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Christopher Matthew Jent (born January 11, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was formerly the head coach of the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League, and had a stint as an assistant coach at the Los Angeles Lakers as well.

Early life and college career

Jent was born in Orange, California and grew up in Sparta, New Jersey.[1][2] After attending high school at Sparta High School (New Jersey), he played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes, leaving in 1992 after four seasons.

Professional playing career

Undrafted in the 1992 NBA draft, Jent was drafted in the fourth round (50th overall) in the 1992 CBA draft.[3] Jent began his professional career with CBA teams Rapid City Thrillers and Columbus Horizon.[4]

He had a brief career in the NBA, playing three games each for the Houston Rockets (winning a championship ring in 1994) and New York Knicks (1996–97).[5] He played in 11 playoff games in 1994, thus giving him the rare distinction of having played in more career playoff-games than regular-season games in the NBA. In between his stints with the Rockets and the Knicks, he played with the Australian NBL's North Melbourne Giants in 1995 and also played in Italy, Spain and Greece.

Coaching career

Philadelphia 76ers (2003–2004)

Jent was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2003–04 season.

Orlando Magic (2004–2005)

The next season, Jent worked in the same capacity with the Orlando Magic, and was appointed interim head coach for the final 18 games of the 2004–05 season (going 5–13), after Johnny Davis was fired. At the start of the next season he was replaced by Brian Hill.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2006–2011)

Beginning in November 2006, Jent took on the role of Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He served as LeBron James' personal shooting coach while James was on the team.[6]

Ohio State (2011–2013)

On June 29, 2011, Ohio State head basketball coach Thad Matta introduced Jent as an assistant coach for the Buckeyes.

Sacramento Kings (2013–2014)

On June 10, 2013, Jent became an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings.[7] He was relieved of his duty on December 16, 2014.[8]

Bakersfield Jam (2015–2016)

Jent would later on be the newest head coach for the Bakersfield Jam in 2015 after their former head coach ended up accepting an assistant coach/leading player development position for the Phoenix Suns.[9]

Return to Ohio State (2016–2017)

Jent returned to Ohio State as an assistant following the 2015–16 season.[10]

Atlanta Hawks (2017–2022)

For the 2017–18 season, Jent was hired as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks.[11]

Los Angeles Lakers (2022–2024)

For the 2022–23 season, Jent was hired as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.[12]

Charlotte Hornets (2024–present)

Chris Jent was hired as an assistant coach on Charles Lee's staff for the Charlotte Hornets in the 2024 offeason.[13]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Source[1]

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1993–94 Houston 3 0 26.0 .500 .364 .500 5.0 2.3 .0 .0 10.3
1996–97 New York 3 0 3.3 .333 .667 .3 .3 .0 .0 2.0
Career 6 0 14.7 .469 .429 .500 2.7 1.3 .0 .0 6.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1994 Houston 11 0 5.6 .250 .231 .8 .6 .2 .0 1.2

Head coaching record

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Orlando 2004–05 18 5 13 .278 3rd in Southeast Missed Playoffs
Career 18 5 13 .278

References

  1. ^ a b "Chris Jent". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  2. ^ Chris Jent Archived 2011-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, National Basketball Association. Accessed June 28, 2011.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 26, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Chris Jent player profile". NBA. Archived from the original on September 10, 1999.
  5. ^ "Chris Jent Stats".
  6. ^ SI.com article, accessed February 27, 2009.
  7. ^ KINGS ADD CHRIS JENT TO COACHING STAFF
  8. ^ Chris Jent leaves Kings' coaching staff
  9. ^ "Suns Sign Teletovic, Weems, Price". NBA.com. August 27, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  10. ^ "What Chris Jent hopes to bring to Ohio State basketball as a new/old assistant coach". Cleveland.com. April 27, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  11. ^ "Atlanta Hawks Name Chris Jent As Assistant Coach", Atlanta Hawks, July 7, 2017, retrieved July 22, 2017
  12. ^ "Lakers Announce 2022-23 Coaching Staff". NBA.com. September 27, 2022.
  13. ^ https://swarmandsting.com/posts/hornets-hire-lakers-assistant-chris-jent-to-charles-lee-s-staff-01hyxb5naes8
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