Episode 37 – Garrett Boorojian and Greg Buckner discuss relationship building in a team environment.
After Garrett interviewed Greg, since 2024, Greg has been an Assistant Coach of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. Greg and the Bucks won the 2024 NBA Cup Championship when they beat the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder.
Regarding Hall of Fame Basketball Coaches Del Harris and Don Nelson at the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks:
“We called him (Coach Harris) the professor, right, he was a genius… a match made in heaven. He was a genius on defense and Nelly (Coach Nelson) was a genius on offense.” – Greg Buckner, Assistant Coach, NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks
Regarding the fans in Cleveland about his coaching:
“Coach you’re doing a good job, and when they say something like that, it makes you smile, laugh a lot, and it makes you understand and appreciate that you’re in a great situation, not just in the organization but the city (fans) who really support you, who really has your back, and who really wants you to be successful because they’ve been there their whole lives. And they live, eat, and breath, you know, Cleveland sports.” – Greg
When asked if he would like to be a head coach of an NBA team one day:
“I think about it every day. Every day, I think about it.” – Greg
With respect to making a positive impact in the world:
“I think my job on this earth is to make this earth a better place than it was before I got here.” – Greg
Regarding the influence of future Hall of Fame College Basketball Head Coach, Rick Barnes:
“I don’t know where I’d be without Rick Barnes… Rick was amazing to me when I played… he’s an unbelievable man and he knows how to be successful.” – Greg
With respect to relationship building:
“Everybody must understand it’s about the bigger picture, right. It’s not about you only, and you have to understand that it’s about you being a small piece of the success of the whole team. So how do you do that, right, you have to be selfless, you have to be able to communicate with each other, you have to spend time with each other, you have to be willing to understand the other side…” – Greg
Greg Buckner’s Bio:
Greg played for Coach Barnes at Clemson University from 1994 to 1998. Greg was awarded Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year in 1995. At Clemson, he was a 2x Second-team All ACC player and helped lead Clemson to three consecutive NCAA Division I Tournament appearances. During the regular season, Greg started all 122 games played, averaged 14.4 points per game, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, and shot an impressive 50.4% from the floor. Greg is a member of the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame and was inducted in 2005.
Greg was drafted in the second round of the 1998 NBA Draft and played for five NBA teams: Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Memphis Grizzlies. His best NBA game, as a player, was in a 110–82 win on November 21, 2004. As a member of the Denver Nuggets vs. the Dallas Mavericks, in 32 minutes of playing time, Greg scored 28 points, making 10 of 13 field goals. In addition to a 76.9% field goal percentage for that game, he made 50% of his threes and 75% of his free throws. Greg’s well–rounded performance also included two assists, four steals, and nine rebounds.
His last game in the NBA as a player was in 2009, but Greg returned to the court as a coach in 2011:
– NBA’s Houston Rockets – Assistant Coach
– NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies – Assistant Coach
– NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers – Assistant Coach, Interim Head Coach, and Associate Head Coach
– NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks – Assistant Coach