Kurt Rambis

Kurt Rambis Position Power forwardHeight 6 ft 8 in(2.03 m) Weight 213 lb(97 kg) Born February 25, 1958(1958-02-25) (age 50)
Cupertino, CaliforniaNationality Greek-AmericanCollege Santa ClaraDraft 3rd round, 58th overall, 1980
New York KnicksPro career 1980–1995 Former teams AEK Athens BC(1980–1981)
Los Angeles Lakers(1981–1988, 1993–1995)
Charlotte Hornets(1988–1990)
Phoenix Suns(1990–1992)
Sacramento Kings(1992–1993)

Darrell Kurt Rambis (born February 25, 1958, in Cupertino, California) is a retired Greek-American professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.

He graduated from Santa Clara University and then played in the Greek League with AEK Athens BC and won the Greek Cup in 1981. His number is retired in Cupertino High School.

Rambis was drafted and waived by the New York Knicks in 1980 before playing in Greece. He was re-signed by the Knicks in 1981 but never played a game for them. His success as an NBA player started when he was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1981. Rambis spent most of his 14 seasons in the NBA with the Lakers, winning championships in 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. Rambis also played for the Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings. Rambis is remembered in both Santa Clara and Los Angeles for his all out effort and willingness to do the "dirty work" that many players do not embrace.

During his playing days, Rambis was a favorite among the Lakers fans because of his status as an over-achieving underdog and ultimate team-player. Known for his defensive skills, Rambis also was an efficient clean-up man on offense with his field goal percentage reaching 59.5% at the peak of his career. Rambis usually wore a thick moustache and thick-rimmed black glasses, prompting Lakers announcer Chick Hearn to nickname him "Superman" (in reference to the character's alter ego, Clark Kent).

After retiring from his playing career, he briefly coached the Lakers franchise during the 1999 "lockout season" following the firing of coach Del Harris. He achieved moderate success, registering a 24-13 record in regular season before being swept by the San Antonio Spurs in 1999 Western Conference Semifinals. He stayed on as an assistant coach when Phil Jackson took over. In 2007, Rambis interviewed for the Sacramento Kings coaching job. He is currently under consideration for the Phoenix Suns and Chicago Bulls coaching jobs.

Rambis also had a recurring role as Coach Cleary in the family drama 7th Heaven.

Rambis is also mentioned in the song "Blao!" by rapper Hot Karl. The line states "I'm wearing the goggles that Kurt Rambis used to sport." The song was featured on NBA Live 2003.

External links

www.kurtrambis.com Laker Jim's Kurt Rambis Fan Club
nba.com
Kurt Rambis Statistics at Basketball-Reference.com
basketpedya.com
Kurt Rambis at the Internet Movie Database

Preceded by
Del Harris Los Angeles LakersHead Coach
1999 Succeeded by
Phil Jackson

v • d • e Los Angeles Lakers 1981-82 NBA Champions

v • d • e Los Angeles Lakers 1984-85 NBA Champions

v • d • e Los Angeles Lakers 1986-87 NBA Champions

v • d • e Los Angeles Lakers 1987-88 NBA Champions

v • d • e Charlotte Hornets' inaugural National Basketball Associationseason (1988-89) player roster 1 Bogues• 3 Chapman• 6 Holton• 7 Tripucka• 21 Green• 25 Cureton• 30 Curry• 31 Rambis • 41 Kempton• 42 Hoppen• 45 Rowsom• 50 Reid• Head Coach Harter

v • d • eMinneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles, CaliforniaThe Franchise Franchise• Team History• All-Time roster• Draft history• Seasons• Records• Current seasonArenas Minneapolis Auditorium• Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena• Great Western Forum• Staples CenterCoaches Kundla• Mikan• Kundla• Castellani• Pollard• Schaus• van Breda Kolff• Mullaney• Sharman• West• McKinney• Westhead• Riley• Dunleavy• Pfund• Johnson• Harris• Rambis • Jackson• Tomjanovich• Hamblen• JacksonD-League Affiliate Los Angeles D-FendersAdministration Dr. Jerry Buss(Majority Owner) • Mitch Kupchak(Vice President & GM of Basketball Ops.) • Phil Jackson(Head Coach) • Anschutz Entertainment Group(Minority Owner) Notable Figures Kareem Abdul-Jabbar• Elgin Baylor• Kobe Bryant• Wilt Chamberlain• Michael Cooper• Derek Fisher• Gail Goodrich• Chick Hearn• Magic Johnson• Clyde Lovellette• Slater Martin• George Mikan• Vern Mikkelsen• Lamar Odom• Shaquille O'Neal• Jim Pollard• Kurt Rambis • Byron Scott• Nick Van Exel• Jerry West• Jamaal Wilkes• James WorthyRetired Numbers 13• 22• 25• 32• 33• 42• 44• Chick Hearn (Microphone)
Minneapolis Lakers Hall of Famers(Mikan, Mikkelsen, Martin, Lovellette, Pollard, Coach Kundla) NBA Championships (14) 1949• 1950• 1952• 1953• 1954• 1972• 1980• 1982• 1985• 1987• 1988• 2000• 2001• 2002Rivals Boston Celtics• Detroit Pistons• Philadelphia 76ers• Phoenix Suns• Sacramento Kings• San Antonio Spurs• Utah Jazz

v • d • ePhoenix Suns Phoenix, ArizonaThe Franchise Franchise• History• Seasons• Records• PlayersArenas Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum• US Airways CenterCulture & Lore The Gorilla• 1976 NBA Finals• The Shot 'Heard' Round the World• 1993 NBA Finals• Curse of the Coin Flip• 1993 Runner-up CurseImportant Figures Alvan Adams• Danny Ainge• Leandro Barbosa• Charles Barkley• Raja Bell• Cedric Ceballos• Tom Chambers• Rex Chapman• Walter Davis• Boris Diaw• Armon Gilliam• Gail Goodrich• A.C. Green• Tom Gugliotta• Penny Hardaway• Connie Hawkins• Gar Heard• Jeff Hornacek• Dennis Johnson• Eddie Johnson• Joe Johnson• Kevin Johnson• Jason Kidd• Dan Majerle• Danny Manning• Stephon Marbury• Shawn Marion• Xavier McDaniel• Larry Nance• Steve Nash• Elliot Perry• Kurt Rambis • Charlie Scott• Paul Silas• Amare Stoudemire• Wayman Tisdale• Dick Van Arsdale• Tom Van Arsdale• Nick Vanos• Neal Walk• Mark West• Paul Westphal• Shaquille O'NealRing of Honor & Retired Numbers 5 Dick Van Arsdale• 6 Walter Davis• 7 Kevin Johnson• 9 Dan Majerle• 24 Tom Chambers• 33 Alvan Adams• 34 Charles Barkley• 42 Connie Hawkins• 44 Paul Westphal• 832 Cotton Fitzsimmons• Jerry Colangelo• Joe Proski Hall of Famers Charles Barkley• Jerry Colangelo• Gail Goodrich• Connie HawkinsKey Personnel Owner: Robert Sarver• General Manager: Steve Kerr• Head Coach: Terry Porter• Voice of the Suns: Al McCoyHead Coaches Kerr• Colangelo• Fitzsimmons• van Breda Kolff• Colangelo• MacLeod• Van Arsdale• Wetzel• Fitzsimmons• Westphal• Fitzsimmons• Ainge• Skiles• Johnson• D'Antoni• Porter Western Conference
Championships (2) 1976• 1993 Pacific Division
Championships (6) 1981• 1993• 1995• 2005• 2006• 2007Seasons (40) 1968-69 • 1969-70 • 1970-71 • 1971-72 • 1972-73 • 1973-74 • 1974-75 • 1975-76 • 1976-77 • 1977-78 • 1978-79 • 1979-80 • 1980-81 • 1981-82 • 1982-83 • 1983-84 • 1984-85 • 1985-86 • 1986-87 • 1987-88 • 1988-89 • 1989-90 • 1990-91 • 1991-92 • 1992-93• 1993-94 • 1994-95 • 1995-96 • 1996-97• 1997-98 • 1998-99 • 1999-2000 • 2000-01 • 2001-02 • 2002-03 • 2003-04 • 2004-05 • 2005-06 • 2006-07• 2007-08D-League
Affiliate Albuquerque Thunderbirds(NBA Development League)

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