Greg Foster (basketball)

Greg Foster
Personal information
Born (1968-10-03) October 3, 1968 (age 56)
Oakland, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High schoolSkyline (Oakland, California)
College
NBA draft1990: 2nd round, 35th overall pick
Selected by the Washington Bullets
Playing career1990–2003
PositionPower forward / center
Number42, 44, 35, 40
Coaching career2013–present
Career history
As player:
1990Breogán
1990–1992Washington Bullets
1992–1993Atlanta Hawks
1993Milwaukee Bucks
1993–1994Papagos Athens
1994Chicago Bulls
1994–1995Minnesota Timberwolves
1995–1999Utah Jazz
1999–2000Seattle SuperSonics
2000–2001Los Angeles Lakers
2001–2002Milwaukee Bucks
2002–2003Toronto Raptors
As coach:
2013–2014Philadelphia 76ers (assistant)
2014–2018Milwaukee Bucks (assistant)
2018–2020Atlanta Hawks (assistant)
2020–2021Indiana Pacers (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points2,538 (3.9 ppg)
Rebounds1,691 (2.6 rpg)
Assists351 (0.5 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Gregory Clinton Foster (born October 3, 1968) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who last served as assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

College years

Foster was born in Oakland, California and attended Skyline High School where he played alongside future NBA point guard Gary Payton. He began his collegiate basketball career at UCLA, playing for the Bruins his freshman and sophomore years before transferring to UTEP. As a junior in 1988–89, he played alongside future NBA stars Tim Hardaway and Antonio Davis. Foster helped lead the Miners to two WAC titles, and as a senior he averaged 15.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Foster earned his bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from UTEP in 2011.[1]

Professional career

A 6'11" center–power forward, Foster was selected by the Washington Bullets in the second round (35th overall pick) of the 1990 NBA draft. He spent 13 seasons (1990–2003) in the NBA as a member of the Washington Bullets, Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Seattle SuperSonics, Los Angeles Lakers, and Toronto Raptors. During his long career, mainly spent as a reserve player, he reached the NBA Finals three times (twice with the Jazz and once with the Lakers) and won a championship ring with the Lakers in 2001.

Coaching career

Foster served as an assistant coach at the University of Texas-El Paso.

During the 2013–14 season, he Served as player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers. From 2014 to 2018 Foster served as assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks. On June 8, 2018, the Atlanta Hawks hired Foster as an assistant coach, a position he held for the next season as well.[2]

On November 13, 2020, Foster was hired as an assistant coach by the Indiana Pacers under Nate Bjorkgren.[3]

On May 6, 2021, Foster was suspended one game after an on-court verbal altercation with Pacers player Goga Bitadze.[4]

Personal life

Foster and his wife have a son and two daughters.[5] While in high school, he had the name "Bowie" tattooed on his left shoulder as his friends felt he resembled former NBA center Sam Bowie, who was then playing for the Portland Trail Blazers.[6]

Career stats

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1990–91 Washington 54 3 11.2 .460 .000 .689 2.8 .7 .2 .4 4.4
1991–92 Washington 49 3 11.2 .461 .000 .714 3.0 .7 .1 .2 4.3
1992–93 Washington 10 0 9.3 .440 – .667 2.7 1.1 .0 .5 2.4
1992–93 Atlanta 33 0 6.2 .463 .000 .722 1.7 .3 .1 .3 3.1
1993–94 Milwaukee 3 0 6.3 .571 – 1.000 1.0 .0 .0 .3 3.3
1994–95 Chicago 17 3 17.6 .477 .– .710 3.2 .9 .1 .5 6.1
1994–95 Minnesota 61 0 13.9 .470 .304 .700 3.4 .4 .2 .3 4.6
1995–96 Utah 73 2 11.0 .439 .125 .847 2.4 .3 .1 .3 3.8
1996–97 Utah 79 12 11.6 .453 .667 .831 2.4 .4 .1 .3 3.5
1997–98 Utah 78 49 18.5 .445 .222 .770 3.5 .7 .2 .4 5.7
1998–99 Utah 42 1 10.9 .377 .250 .619 2.0 .6 .1 .2 2.8
1999–00 Seattle 60 5 12.0 .406 .200 .643 1.8 .7 .2 .3 3.4
2000–01† L.A. Lakers 62 8 7.3 .421 .333 .714 1.8 .5 .1 .2 2.0
2001–02 Milwaukee 6 0 4.0 .222 .000 .750 1.3 .2 .0 .0 1.2
2002–03 Toronto 29 9 18.6 .385 .250 .813 3.5 .4 .0 .3 4.2
Career 656 95 12.2 .440 .225 .748 2.6 .5 .1 .3 3.9

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1993 Atlanta 1 0 5.0 .333 – .750 1.0 .0 .0 .0 5.0
1995 Utah 12 0 6.3 .500 – .600 1.0 .2 .1 .2 2.3
1996 Utah 20* 0 15.5 .389 .250 .867 2.8 .6 .2 .4 4.2
1997 Utah 20 16 16.8 .453 .500 .600 3.4 .3 .1 .3 4.1
1998 Utah 8 0 8.8 .421 – – 1.0 .1 .1 .0 2.0
1999 Seattle 5 0 13.6 .368 .400 1.000 2.2 .2 .0 .2 3.6
2000–01† L.A. Lakers 1 0 3.0 – – – 1.0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Career 67 16 12.9 .425 .333 .784 2.3 .3 .1 .2 3.5

References

  1. ^ Knight, Bill (May 14, 2011). "UTEP basketball assistant Greg Foster gets degree 17 years after Miner days". El Paso Times. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013.
  2. ^ "Hawks Announce Additions To Coaching Staff". NBA.com. June 8, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  3. ^ "Pacers Name Assistant Coaches for 2020-21 Season". NBA.com. November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "Indiana Pacers suspend assistant coach Greg Foster, fine Goga Bitadze after on-court exchange". ESPN.com. May 6, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  5. ^ "Greg Foster". NBA.com. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  6. ^ Genessy, Jody (May 31, 1998). "Under their skin". Deseret News. Archived from the original on October 1, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2019.