For the 1991 season Gentry joined Kevin Loughery's staff as an assistant coach for the Miami Heat, where he coached for three seasons. He then moved to Detroit following the 1994–95 season where he served as an assistant for two and a half seasons before being named head coach late in the 1997–98 season.
Los Angeles Clippers
Gentry returned to San Antonio as head assistant coach following the 1999–2000 season, where he was reunited with former co-assistants Gregg Popovich (the Spurs head coach and vice president of basketball operations) and R .C. Buford (the Spurs' general manager). But that assignment was brief, as Gentry accepted the head coaching position for the Los Angeles Clippers weeks after taking the San Antonio job. He led the Clippers to 31 wins and 39 wins respectively in his first two seasons as their head coach. Those seasons were marked by the solid play of young players, such as Darius Miles, Elton Brand and Lamar Odom. In Gentry's third season, however, the team regressed (despite the addition of Andre Miller), and Gentry was fired in March 2003, following a run of five consecutive defeats. His final record as Clippers head coach stood at 89–133.[2]
Phoenix Suns
Gentry in 2009
Gentry later became an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns for six years, serving under head coaches Mike D'Antoni and Terry Porter. When Porter was fired in his first season as head coach, Alvin Gentry took over on an interim basis. He was named Suns' head coach for the 2009–10 season. Gentry's record in his first year as head coach during the 2009–2010 season was 54 wins, a career high, against 28 losses. The Suns advanced to the Western Conference finals and lost to the Lakers in six games. He became the fifth head coach to lead the Suns to the Western Conference finals in his first full season.[3] Gentry figured out how to blend the two styles of D'Antoni and Porter. Comparing his coaching to D'Antoni, Gentry said "We are not seven seconds or less. We're 12 seconds or under. We don't take a lot of really quick shots. We don't play with that breakneck pace. We play with a rhythm." Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich remarked "One thing about Phoenix is they are better defensively than in the past. They're much more active, much more committed, they've taken responsibility to a much more significant degree than ever before."[4][5]
On January 18, 2013, Gentry mutually parted ways with the Phoenix Suns.[6] In July 2013, he returned to the Clippers organization, taking the title of associate head coach, making him Doc Rivers' lead assistant.[7]
Golden State Warriors
After one season with the Clippers, Gentry was hired as associate head coach for the Golden State Warriors, working under new head coach Steve Kerr.[8]
New Orleans Pelicans
On May 30, 2015, Gentry was named the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans.[9][10] prior to the start of the 2015 NBA Finals, but was to remain with Golden State until the series was completed. The Warriors won the NBA Championship after they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games to give Gentry his first NBA championship.
On August 15, 2020, after a disappointing performance in the NBA Bubble following the resumption of the 2019–20 season, Gentry was fired as the Pelicans' coach. He was 175–225 in five seasons. Often plagued by injuries, New Orleans used 140 starting lineups in that span, 11 more than the next-closest team in the league. Gentry left the Pelicans with the second-most wins in franchise history behind Byron Scott and was their only coach with a winning post-season record (5–4).[11][12]
Sacramento Kings
On October 6, 2020, Gentry was named the associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings.[13][14] On November 21, 2021, Gentry was named the interim head coach of the Kings following the dismissal of Luke Walton.[15] On April 11, 2022, he was fired by the Kings.[16]
Executive career
Following his dismissal as head coach, Gentry was retained by the Sacramento Kings as the vice president of basketball engagement.[17]
