John Kuester’s Coaching Career
Learn about the former Detroit Pistons head coach and veteran assistant coach who has over 30 years of experience.
John Kuester is a retired basketball coach who coached 31 years across the collegiate and the NBA levels. He is notably known for his short stint as the Detroit Pistons head coach, but served as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Detroit Pistons, and the Boston Celtics.
In this article, you’ll learn about Coach Kuester’s 31 year coaching career. For more informative content like this, please consider subscribing to Behind the Coaching for weekly articles about coaches, teachers, and mentors in our sports.
Before Coaching
John Kuester was born on February 6, 1955 in Richmond, Virginia. He played the guard position, playing high school basketball at Benedictine College Preparatory, a private military school in Goochland, Virginia. During his 4 years there, he led his team to three consecutive state Catholic League titles and the Cadets were 31–3 in his senior year.
Kuester later played college basketball with the North Carolina Tar Heels from 1973 to 1978 under head coach Dean Smith. He later was drafted by the Kansas City Kings with the 53rd overall pick in the 3rd round of the 1977 NBA draft.
He only played 3 years in the NBA with the Kings, Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers. He has noted that Brian Winters, was one of the toughest players he had gone against.
University of Richmond (1980-1981)
After retiring as a player, Kuester started his coaching career at the University of Richmond’s men’s basketball team, the Spiders as an assistant coach under Lou Goetz.
Boston University (1981-1985)
Kuester then joined the coaching staff at Boston University men’s basketball team under Rick Pitino. In 1983, Kuester became the head coach after Coach Pitino joined the New York Knicks as an assistant coach.
He had an overall coaching record of 31-28 with his 2 seasons as the team’s head coach.
George Washington (1985-1990)
Kuester became the head coach of the George Washington Revolutionaries men's basketball team. In his 5 seasons with the team, he had an overall head coaching record of 50-91.
Boston Celtics (1995-1997)
Coach Kuester’s first NBA coaching job was with the Boston Celtics under M.L. Carr. The team failed to make the playoffs in both seasons Carr was the coach. In 1997, the Celtics finished with their worst regular season in team history with a record of 15-67.
Kuester notably coached Dino Rađa, Dana Barros, Rick Fox, and Antoine Walker.
Philadelphia 76ers (1997-2003)
Coach Kuester joined Larry Brown’s staff in Philadelphia. In 1999, the team reached the playoffs for the first time since 1990, however they were eliminated in the conference semi-finals to the Indiana Pacers in 4 games.
He notably coached Allen Iverson, Derrick Coleman, Eric Snow, Aaron McKie, Brian Shaw, Tyrone Hill, Kevin Ollie, Dikembe Mutombo, Keith Van Horn, Monty Williams, and Greg Buckner.
Detroit Pistons (2003-2004)
Kuester joined the Pistons coaching staff, once again becoming an assistant coach under Larry Brown. The team finished with a record of 54-28, 3rd place in the Eastern Conference, qualifying for the playoffs.
The Pistons would defeat the Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, Indiana Pacers, and the Los Angeles Lakers to win the 2004 NBA championship.
He notably coached Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Darvin Ham.
New Jersey Nets (2004-2005)
Coach Kuester joined Lawerence Frank’s coaching staff in New Jersey. The team started their season with a 2-11 record, a major factor of the losing streak was the absence of Jason Kidd, who had knee surgery earlier in the off-season. Later, the team traded for Vince Carter, by the time Carter made his debut, Kidd returned from his injury.
The Nets finished with a record of 42-40, tied for 8th place in Eastern Conference with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Nets qualified for the playoffs in a tight race in the standings. They were eliminated in the first round by the Miami Heat in 4 games, this was the first time since 1998 they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
Return to the 76ers (2005-2006)
Coach Kuester returned to the 76ers as an assistant coach for Maurice Cheeks. The team finished with a 38-44 record, 9th place in the Eastern Conference, missing the playoffs.
He notably coached Allen Iverson, Andre Iguodala, Kyle Korver, Chris Webber, Lou Williams, Kevin Ollie, and Willie Green.
Orlando Magic (2006-2007)
Kuester became an assistant coach under Brian Hill for the Orlando Magic. The team finished with a record of 40-42, 8th place in the Eastern Confence, qualifying for the playoffs. They would be eliminated in the first round by the Detroit Pistons in a clean sweep of 4 games.
He notably coached Dwight Howard, Hedo Türkoğlu, JJ Redick, Grant Hill, Trevor Ariza, and Darko Miličić.
Cleveland Cavaliers (2007-2009)
Kuester joined Mike Brown’s coaching staff with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2009, they finished with a record of 66-16, 1st place in the Eastern Conference, qualifying for the playoffs. The Cavaliers were eliminated in the conference finals by the Orlando Magic in 6 games.
The following season, the Cavs finished with a 61-21 record, 1st place in the Eastern Conference, and once again qualifying for the playoffs. They would lose in the conference semi-finals to the Boston Celtics in 6 games. Mike Brown would be fired in the off-season.
Kuester notably coached LeBron James, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejão, Delonte West, Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Eric Snow, Wally Szczerbiak, and Mo Williams.
Return to the Pistons (2009-2011)
Kuester returned to the Pistons as their head coach, the team’s first choice, Avery Johnson fell through. In his first season, the team finished with a 27-55 record, 12th place in the eastern conference, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Notably on his staff was Brian Hill, who Kuester coached under in Orlando.
Coach Kuester and the players had a “tense” relationship throughout his tenure. Due to the death of Bill Davidson, the team’s owner, his wife Karen had taken over 2009 and was activity trying to sell the team during Kuester’s tenure which resulted in a moratorium of some front office operations during the sale process. Without any major trades or signings, the roster remained the same throughout the year.
Another situation occurred on February 25, 2011, 7 players missed at least part of a team shootaround, which later ended up in a blowout loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Shortly after Tom Gores became the owner of the Detroit Pistons in 2011, Kuester was fired.
"I thought he was great. He's a great X and O guy. A guy that can really draw up plays. He did that during the championship days when I was in Detroit with Larry Brown. Larry Brown would let him control the huddle and things like that. I think he's a great X and O (coach). Any time you have a first year head coach, it's always hard. It's always hard. But I thought that he did a great job and hopefully he'll get another opportunity." - Richard Hamilton on Coach Kuester in 2012
Kuester had reunited with Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton, and Tayshaun Prince. He notably coached Tracy McGrady, Ben Gordon, Kwame Brown, and Greg Monroe.
Los Angeles Lakers (2011-2012)
Kuester reunited with Mike Brown as an assistant coach with the Lakers in 2011. The team finished with a record of 41-25, 3rd place in the Western Conference, qualifying for the playoffs. The Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets in 7 games in the first round, but were eliminated in the conference semi-finals by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 5 games.
After the season, Kuester was reassigned as an advance scout based in the East Coast.
In his only season with the Lakers, he notably coached Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace, Andrew Bynum, and Steve Blake.
Nigerian Men’s Basketball Team
In 2020, Mike Brown was named the head coach of the Nigerian Men’s Basketball team, Kuester was one of his assistant coaches.
“The biggest adjustment that any coach makes from an assistant to a head coach is the management of everything that needs to be involved. Not just offense and defense, but player’s minutes, and also the press. You know how many times that you have to speak with the press every day, and keep them abreast of what’s going on. That’s an adjustment, and Mike Brown’s ability to manage that in Cleveland was outstanding, and very helpful to me in making that transition when I went to Detroit.” - John Kuester on adjusting from being an assistant to head coach