Brian Warwick Goorjian (born 28 July 1953) is an American-Australian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL). He is also coach of the Australia men's national basketball team . He is the most successful coach in Australian basketball and his career has been called the most successful in NBL history by Basketball Australia . In an NBL coaching career spanning over 20 years, Goorjian has won six championships : two with the South East Melbourne Magic , three with the Sydney Kings and one with the South Dragons . He previously served as the head coach of the Australia men's team from 2001 to 2008 before returning as coach in 2020.
24-770: In 2009, Goorjian became the head coach of the Dongguan Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) and stayed with the team for six seasons. He served as an assistant coach for the Guangdong Southern Tigers from 2015 to 2016 and as a special advisor to the Shanghai Sharks from 2016 to 2018. Goorjian returned to coaching duties when he joined the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in 2018 as an assistant coach for one season. After spending
48-594: A Chinese professional basketball team which plays in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). New Century is the club's corporate sponsor. The team is based in Futian District, Shenzhen , Guangdong , and plays its home games at Shenzhen Gymnasium . The club was founded in 2003 as Dongguan New Century Leopards and was initially located in Dongguan , Guangdong . After twelve seasons,
72-828: A decade in the CBA, he returned to the NBL in 2020 as the head coach of the Illawarra Hawks . In 2024, he returned to the Kings as head coach, returning to the team he last coached in 2008. Goorjian was born in Glendale, California , and is of Armenian descent. He played on the basketball team at Crescenta Valley High School in La Crescenta, California , and was coached by his father, Ed . Goorjian's younger brothers, Kevin and Greg, also played basketball at Crescenta Valley. He played college basketball for
96-483: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Guangdong Southern Tigers Guangdong Hongyuan Southern Tigers ( Chinese : 广东宏远华南虎 ) or Guangdong Southern Tigers , also known as Guangdong Dongguan Bank ( Chinese : 广东东莞银行 ) for sponsorship reasons, are a Chinese professional basketball team owned by the Guangdong Winnerway (Hongyuan) Group. The team is one of the best-performing teams in
120-463: The 2002 World Championships , Goorjian was appointed as coach in late 2001 when Smyth resigned and would hold the position until 2008. By becoming the Boomers coach, Goorjian was the first foreign born coach to the team in its history. Under his tutelage, the Boomers qualified for the 2004 Athens Olympics , where they finished ninth, dropping five places from their 2000 finish. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics,
144-471: The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The Tigers have won eleven CBA titles, more than any other team in the league. They are also the only team to have qualified for the CBA playoffs in every season since the league launched in 1995. The team plays its home games in Dongguan , Guangdong . Occasionally, for marketing purposes, the team plays some of its home games in Zhongshan , Zhuhai , and other cities in
168-794: The Pearl River Delta . Their arch-rivals in the CBA have traditionally been the Beijing Ducks . Established in 1993, the Tigers are the main team (Team 1) of the Guangdong Southern Tigers Basketball Club which is the first privately (non-government) owned professional basketball club in China. Besides Team 1, the club has three reserve teams (youth teams): Team 2 ( Guangzhou based), Team 3A (Guangzhou based), and Team 3B (Dongguan based). These reserve teams are jointly administered by
192-692: The Pepperdine Waves . Goorjian first arrived in Australia in 1977 to play for the Melbourne Tigers under head coach Lindsay Gaze . He served as the inaugural captain of the Tigers in their first National Basketball League (NBL) season in 1984. Goorjian's first head coaching job came in 1988 when he coached the Eastside Spectres . The team missed the finals in Goorjian's first two seasons. In 1990,
216-504: The CBA season has finished, Goorjian became Special Advisor of the Shanghai Sharks in early 2016, responsible for player development, talent identification, scouting and game analysis. Following the 2017–2018 season he left the club. After leaving the Sharks, Goorijan moved to the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in 2018 as an assistant coach, and remained there for one season. On 23 June 2020, returned to Australia and signed with Illawarra Hawks of
240-733: The Magic merged with cross-town rivals the North Melbourne Giants to form the Victoria Titans . Goorjian lost another two Grand Finals in his first two seasons as coach for the Titans. The Titans lost 2–1 to defending champions Adelaide in 1998–99 before being swept 2–0 by the Perth Wildcats in 1999–2000. At the end of the 2001–02 season, the financially struggling Victoria Titans went into administration and were sold to new owners associated with
264-632: The NBL as their new head coach. He elected to not take up his third-year option with the Hawks in May 2022, instead moving to the role of special advisor for basketball operations. On 6 March 2024, Goorijan signed a three-year deal to return as head coach of the Sydney Kings . After Phil Smyth's less than one-year term as the Australian Boomers coach in 2001 which resulted in the team's shock non-qualification for
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#1733085212000288-642: The Spectres bowed out in the semi-finals and the next year they went one better by making the Grand Final for only the second time in the club's history. They lost this final to the defending champion Perth Wildcats . The Spectres merged with the Southern Melbourne Saints during the 1992 offseason to form the South East Melbourne Magic with Goorjian named as the new Magic coach. Goorjian won
312-556: The Year award as the Kings went 27–3 during the 2007–08 regular season. However, they were unable to turn this success into a fourth championship, going down narrowly to the Melbourne Tigers. On April 1, 2008, Goorjian signed a three-year contract with new Melbourne club South Dragons . Goorjian led the Dragons to the 2008–09 NBL title in his first season with them. He won his sixth Coach of
336-561: The Year award with the Dragons in 2009. The Dragons folded at the end of the season despite their title win, prompting Goorjian to seek a position overseas. Brian Goorjian was the head coach of the Dongguan Leopards . After the 2014–2015 CBA Season ended, Goorjian left the Leopards. Goorjian stepped away from head coaching duties, and became associate coach of the Guangdong Southern Tigers in early 2015, responsible for player development, talent identification, scouting and game analysis. After
360-503: The boomers improved their ranking to finish 7th. In November 2020, Goorjian returned as head coach for the Australian men's national basketball team for the 2020 Summer Olympics where the team won the bronze medal and Australia's first ever medal in Olympic men's basketball. Having won 511 games at a winning percentage of 70% Goorjian's record exceeds that of Australian coaching legends in
384-489: The club and by the Guangdong Provincial Sports Bureau. The Southern Tigers have been CBA members since its inception and are the most successful team in the league. In the 1995–96 season, the Tigers qualified for the finals but lost to Bayi Rockets . After a seven-year wait, they made it to the finals again in 2002–03, and in 2003–04, the team claimed its first ever CBA title. Between 2002–03 and 2012–13,
408-453: The club moved to Shenzhen Gymnasium. Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA -sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed. - Set a club record or won an individual award as a professional player. - Played at least one official international match for his senior national team at any time. This article about a basketball team in China
432-569: The first of his six championships in 1992 against the Melbourne Tigers and was named the Lindsay Gaze Coach of the Year. Three consecutive semi-final losses were followed by a second championship and another Coach of the Year award in 1996 when they again defeated the Tigers. Two Grand Final losses were to follow to the Tigers in 1997 and the Adelaide 36ers in 1998. Following the loss to the 36ers, Goorjian had another change of team by merger when
456-529: The fittest in the league. He said he sat down for his first six games in 1988, which he lost, and has stood during games ever since. On October 10, 2013, Goorjian was named the coach of the Sydney Kings 25th Anniversary Team. Goorjian is an Australian citizen. He has a daughter with his wife, Amanda. Dongguan Leopards The Shenzhen New Century Liebao Club , also known as Shenzhen Marco Polo or Shenzhen Leopards (previously Shenzhen Aviators ) are
480-403: The former North Melbourne Giants, who controversially fired Goorjian. The Sydney Kings hired Goorjian after the 2001–02 season to replace Brett Brown . Goorjian led the Kings to three consecutive NBL championships from 2003 to 2005. Goorjian coached Sydney to five Grand Final series in six years, despite being forced to constantly re-build the team after each season. He won his fifth NBL Coach of
504-617: The other major professional leagues including Kevin Sheedy (AFL – 365), Allan Jeans (AFL – 358), Tom Hafey (AFL – 336), David Parkin (AFL – 306), Wayne Bennett (NRL – 294 wins) and Tim Sheens (NRL – 235). In 2003 the NBL Hall of Fame selection committee voted Brian Goorjian the best coach of the first 25 years of the National Basketball League. In one of the notable statistics in sport, Goorjian-coached teams finished no worse than
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#1733085212000528-543: The playoffs. The team would soon battle its way to respectability, however, becoming somewhat regular participants in the CBA's postseason over the ensuing years. In July 2011, NBA point guard Jeremy Lin played for the team at the ABA Club Championship , and was named the MVP of the tournament. On December 26, 2013, Bobby Brown scored a franchise-record 74 points in a game against Sichuan Blue Whales . In 2024,
552-448: The semi-finals every year from 1990 to 2009. He has also coached teams to a record 12 grand finals and won 'Coach of the Year' on six occasions. Goorjian is also known for his intense coaching style (contrasting the laid back style of his early mentor Lindsay Gaze). His former assistant coach Bill Tomlinson says the detail he paid to defence was notable, as was the emphasis on strength and conditioning which often made Goorjian coached teams
576-464: The team relocated to nearby Shenzhen in 2015. Success came early in their existence for the Leopards, as they were the runners-up in the 2004 Chinese Basketball League (CBL) championship, and were promoted to the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) for the 2005–06 season. In its first season in the CBA in 2005–06, Dongguan finished in seventh and last place in the South Division, and was out of
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