Pali High Alums Coach USA Men’s Basketball to Olympic Glory
By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor
Two of the best shooters in Palisades High history were on head coach Gregg Popovich’s staff at the Tokyo Olympics and helped Team USA win its fourth consecutive men’s basketball gold medal.
Chip Engelland (Class of ‘79), who is an assistant under Popovich for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, enjoyed a Dolphins reunion of sorts with Steve Kerr (Class of ‘83), head coach of the Golden State Warriors. Both played for Coach Jerry Marvin at Palisades.
The Americans avenged a stunning defeat to France in their Olympic opener with an 87-82 triumph in the gold medal game August 7 led by Kevin Durant’s 29 points. Engelland and Kerr were steadying influences on the bench and offered valuable insight resulting from years of success as coaches and players.
One of Engelland’s most cherished memories is being a ball boy for UCLA’s 1975 NCAA champion team under legendary coach John Wooden. Engelland led the City Section in scoring his senior year at Palisades and went on to play four seasons under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke University, scoring more than 1,000 points and being chosen the Blue Devils’ captain as a senior.
Known for his accurate shooting and technical skills, Engelland played professionally for nine years, first in the Philippines, then the United States and Canada, and starting his “Chip Shots” basketball camp in 1993. He began his NBA coaching career as a shooting consultant for the Detroit Pistons in 1999. He served as the Denver Nuggets’ director of player development from 2003-05 and joined Popovich’s staff in the 2005-06 season. His expertise helped the Spurs win NBA championships in 2007 and 2014.
Despite turning 60 in May, Engelland possesses a youthful enthusiasm and remains one of the most sought-after shooting coaches in the game. While at Palisades he dated current Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and even coached Kerr’s summer league teams. The two reunited during the 1993-94 NBA season when Engelland’s subtle advice over dinner helped Kerr get out of a shooting slump.
With the help of his Pali High predecessor, Kerr has forged his own path on the NBA hardwood—one that began as a player and continued as an executive and now as one of the most successful coaches in the league.
Kerr starred in baseball and basketball at Palisades and less than a year after he graduated his father Malcolm (who was President of the American University of Beirut) was shot and killed by two Islamic Jihad gunmen.
Although he was not highly recruited, Steve went on to play for Lute Olson at the University of Arizona, where he set an NCAA record for 3-point percentage in a season (57.3%) and helped the Wildcats reach the Final Four in 1988.
Kerr was drafted in the second round by the Phoenix Suns in 1988 and was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989, where he spent three seasons before joining the Orlando Magic in 1992-93. He won three straight titles with the Chicago Bulls alongside Michael Jordan and won two more titles with San Antonio (1999 an 2003). He retired as the NBA’s all-time leader in single-season 3-point percentage (.524 in 1994-95) and career three-point percentage (.454). He was NBA Three-Point Contest champion in 1997.
After retiring after the 2003 Finals, Kerr became a broadcast analyst for TNT. He was the general manager of the Phoenix Suns from 2007-10.
Kerr has never forgotten his roots and has returned to the Palisades numerous times to speak at the Chamber Breakfast, run the Will Rogers Race and in 2014 he was Grand Marshal of the Fourth of July Parade. He even attended Marvin’s funeral at Palisades Presbyterian Church in 2017.
Kerr has guided the Warriors to three NBA titles (2015, 2017, 2018) and was named Coach of the Year in 2016 after the Warriors set an NBA record with 73 wins in the regular season. With eight NBA titles to his credit (five as a player, three as a coach), he is already the third winningest coach in Warriors history behind Al Attles and Don Nelson.
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