J.B. Bickerstaff joins small group of NBA coaches

Bob MacKinnon

His second stint as interim coach of the old New Jersey Nets placed Bob MacKinnon, who spent 12 seasons in the NBA and one in the ABA as a coach and executive after 13 seasons as head coach at Canisius College in Buffalo.

MacKinnon’s first stint as an interim coach was a seven-game stint in 1977 with the Buffalo Braves, after he as general manager had fired Tates Locke before hiring Joe Mullaney after the team went 3-4 under MacKinnon.

MacKinnon went 12-35 after Kevin Loughery resigned as coach of the Nets in 1980-81 and had a 10-29 mark in 1987-88 between Dave Wohl (2-13) and Willis Reed (7-21).

Gene Littles

While Gene Littles never played in the NBA, he had a solid six-year career as a defensive-minded point guard in the ABA, including helping the Kentucky Colonels to an ABA title in his final season in 1974-75.

But Littles spent 16 seasons in the NBA as a coach, including three short-season stints. He replaced George Karl with the Cavaliers to close the 1985-86 season, going 4-11, and was 11-31 in 1989-90 after Dick Harter was fired by the Charlotte Hornets.

Littles got one full season as Charlotte’s head coach before he was let go after a 26-56 campaign.

His last shot as an interim coach was in the 1994-95 season, when he was 3-13 with the Denver Nuggets following the firing of Dan Issel before general manager Bernie Bickerstaff took over the club.