Nate McMillan
From Mr. Sonic to Hawks head coach, Nate McMillan now serves as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Nathaniel McMillan (born August 3, 1964) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 2000 to 2005, the Portland Trail Blazers from 2005 to 2012, and the Indiana Pacers from 2016 to 2020. McMillan served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks in 2021, before becoming the head coach from 2021 to 2023.
- Playing Career Span
- 1986–1998 (Seattle SuperSonics)
- Status
- Active in NBA as Assistant
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
McMillan spent his entire 12-year NBA playing career with the Seattle SuperSonics. He was drafted by the SuperSonics with the 30th pick in the 1986 NBA draft. Known as 'Mr. Sonic' for his 19 years of service to the team, his number 10 jersey was retired by the SuperSonics. He led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference finals in 2021.
In Their Own Story
The Hawks' locker room was tense on March 1, 2021. Lloyd Pierce had just been fired, and the team was 14–20. Nate McMillan, the quiet assistant coach who had been hired just four months earlier, was named interim head coach. He didn't make a grand speech. Instead, he started with fundamentals. The next night, March 2, the Hawks faced the defending Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat. They won. Then they won again. And again. An eight-game winning streak followed, including a victory over the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers on March 20. 'I'm excited he's going to be our head coach going forward,' general manager Travis Schlenk would later say. McMillan had turned a season on the brink into a playoff run that would take the Hawks to the Eastern Conference finals for only the second time in 54 years.
Reader's Guide
McMillan was hired as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks on November 11, 2020. On March 1, 2021, he was named interim head coach after the firing of Lloyd Pierce. He was named the franchise's 14th head coach on July 5, 2021, with a four-year contract. The Hawks fired McMillan on February 21, 2023, after a 29–30 record. He joined the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant coach on August 5, 2024.
Did You Know?
- McMillan shares the NBA rookie record for assists in a single game with 25, set with Ernie DiGregorio.
- He led the NBA in steals per game for the 1993–94 season and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for 1993–94 and 1994–95.
- McMillan helped the SuperSonics reach the 1996 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Bulls.
- He earned the nickname 'Sarge' during his tenure as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.
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