(1931-10-07)October 7, 1931 Hannibal, Missouri, U.S.
Died
July 24, 2004(2004-07-24) (aged 72) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Listed height
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Listed weight
160 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High school
Bowling Green (Bowling Green, Missouri)
College
Hannibal–LaGrange (1952–1953)
Midwestern State (1953–1956)
Position
Shooting guard
Coaching career
1958–1996
Career history
As coach:
1958–1967
Moberly Area CC
1968–1970
Kansas State
1970–1972
Phoenix Suns
1972–1976
Atlanta Hawks
1977–1978
Buffalo Braves
1978–1984
Kansas City Kings
1984–1986
San Antonio Spurs
1988–1992, 1996–1997
Phoenix Suns
Career highlights and awards
2× NBA Coach of the Year (1979, 1989)
2× NJCAA champion (1966, 1967)
Big Eight regular season champion (1970)
Big Eight Coach of the Year (1970)
Career coaching record
NBA
832–775 (.518)
Basketball Hall of Fame
Lowell Gibbs "Cotton" Fitzsimmons (October 7, 1931 – July 24, 2004) was an American college and NBA basketball coach. A native of Bowling Green, Missouri, he attended and played basketball at Hannibal-LaGrange Junior College in Hannibal, Missouri and Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. He coached the Phoenix Suns three times, was named the NBA Coach of the Year twice, and is often credited as the architect of the Suns' success of the late 1980s and early to middle 1990s. Fitzsimmons won 1,089 games in his coaching career: 223 games at the junior college level, 34 at the Division I college level and 832 in the NBA.
On May 16, 2021, it was announced that Fitzsimmons was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The Class of 2021 enshrinement ceremony occurred on September 11, 2021.[1]
^"FORMER SUNS HEAD COACH COTTON FITZSIMMONS ELECTED TO NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME". Phoenix Suns.
and 24 Related for: Cotton Fitzsimmons information
Lowell Gibbs "Cotton" Fitzsimmons (October 7, 1931 – July 24, 2004) was an American college and NBA basketball coach. A native of Bowling Green, Missouri...
and games won, winning the most regular-season and playoff games. CottonFitzsimmons, Mike D'Antoni and Monty Williams are the only coaches to have won...
Bob MacKinnon, Joe Mullaney (formerly coach of the Colonels) and CottonFitzsimmons. The team's poor play in its final two years (30–52 in 1976–77 and...
coach with the Phoenix Suns under head coach CottonFitzsimmons, and in 1992, he succeeded Fitzsimmons as head coach of the Suns. With players such as...
games coached (69), and playoff games won (34). Phil Johnson and CottonFitzsimmons have won NBA Coach of the Year with the Kings, in the 1974–75 and...
Suns struggled in Hornacek's first two seasons, but after hiring CottonFitzsimmons as a coach and acquiring free agent Tom Chambers, the Suns went from...
times, while Fitch, Hubie Brown, Mike Budenholzer, Mike D'Antoni, CottonFitzsimmons, Gene Shue and Tom Thibodeau have each won it twice. 27 NBA head coaches...
Hubie Brown, Mike Brown, Mike Budenholzer, Mike D'Antoni, Bill Fitch, CottonFitzsimmons, Gene Shue, and Tom Thibodeau have each won it twice. No coach has...
Suns head coaches Johnny Kerr (1968–1969) Jerry Colangelo # (1970) CottonFitzsimmons (1970–1972) Butch van Breda Kolff (1972) Jerry Colangelo (1972–1973)...
from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2009. "CottonFitzsimmons Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC....
of his rookie contract, frequently clashed with head coach CottonFitzsimmons; Fitzsimmons subsequently resigned following an 0–8 start. On December 12...
Phoenix Suns as an assistant to head coach CottonFitzsimmons in May 1996. On November 14, 1996, Fitzsimmons retired after the Suns started the season...
1993) 1930 – Curtis Crider, American race car driver (d. 2012) 1931 – CottonFitzsimmons, American basketball player and coach (d. 2004) 1931 – Tommy Lewis...
Spurs. Westphal was fired midway through the season and replaced by Fitzsimmons, his third stint as head coach. A combination of front office unrest...
Fitzsimons (also spelled FitzSimons, Fitzsimmons or FitzSimmons) is a surname of Norman origin common in both Ireland and England. The name is a variant...
athletic trainer Joe Proski, Dan Majerle, Charles Barkley, former coach CottonFitzsimmons, former team owner and general manager Jerry Colangelo, Steve Nash...
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