Steve Clifford Biography
Steve Clifford (Steven Gerald Clifford) is an American basketball coach, who is the head coach of the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Previously, he was the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets.
He was born in Island Falls, Maine, but grew up in Mattawamkeag, Maine, until the third grade, when he moved to Vermont.
Clifford played varsity basketball under Gerald Clifford, his father and head coach at North Country Union High School in Newport, Vermont.
Steve Clifford Age
He was born on 17 September 1961 in Island Falls, Maine, United States. He is 61 years old as of 2022.
Steve Clifford Height
Clifford stands at a height of 5 feet 6 inches tall.
Steve Clifford Family
Clifford was born in Island Falls, Maine, United States to his loving parents, Gerald Clifford (Father) who was the head coach of North County Union High School basketball team. Information about his mother will be updated soon.
Steve Clifford Wife | Steve Clifford Married
Clifford likes to keep his personal life details away from the public hence there is no any news or information about his wife, whether he is married or has any children.
Steve Clifford Net Worth
Clifford has an estimated net worth of about $1 million to $5 million.
Steve Clifford Salary
He will be earning a total of $4 million in each of the first two seasons.
Steve Clifford Contract
Clifford signed a four-year contract with the Charlotte Hornets as their coach, He is to earn $4 million in each of the first two seasons.
Steve Clifford Education
He attended the University of Maine at Farmington, where he played college basketball for four years. In his final two seasons, Clifford was team captain and was named Best Defensive Player. He graduated with a degree in special education.
Steve Clifford Career
After graduating from college, Clifford became a teacher at Woodland High School in Maine, where he gained his first coaching experience at the school, serving as their head coach for two seasons while leading them to two tournaments. He then served as an assistant coach at St. Anselm’s College, Boston University, Fairfield University and Siena College.
In 1995, Clifford assumed the head coaching duties at Adelphi University and coached for four seasons under Keith Dickson, leading their team to four appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament, an 86–36 (.705) record and four consecutive 20-win seasons. He became the first coach in the school’s history with back-to-back 20-plus win seasons.
He then became an NBA assistant coach with the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets under Jeff Van Gundy and quickly developed a reputation as a defensive expert. Clifford then became an assistant for Stan Van Gundy with the Orlando Magic.
Clifford considers both the Van Gundy brothers as mentors. He reached the NBA Playoffs in each of his five seasons with Orlando, appearing in the NBA Finals in 2009. He then joined the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012–13 as an assistant.
Steve Clifford Charlotte Hornets | Steve Clifford Coach
On May 29, 2013, Clifford was hired by the Charlotte Bobcats to be their head coach.
He implemented a defensive mentality in Charlotte during his first year as head coach turning the Charlotte Bobcats into a top five defensive team when in the years prior to his tenure they ranked near the bottom of the NBA in that category.
Clifford led the Bobcats to the 2014 NBA playoffs in his first year as head coach, during which he coached the Bobcats to a 43–39 record.
Two years before joining the Bobcats he only had a combined total of 28 wins. Clifford was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for April 2014 after he led the Bobcats to a 7–1 record leading to the playoffs. He finished fourth in Coach of the Year voting in his first year.
On December 6, 2017, it was announced that Clifford would not coach indefinitely to deal with his health issue. On January 11, 2018, the Hornets announced that he was medically cleared to return to coaching after a 21-game absence after dealing with sleep deprivation.
After the 2017–18 regular season, Clifford was fired as head coach on April 13, 2018, after five seasons coaching the team to a 196–214 record total.
Orlando Magic
On May 30, 2018, he was named the head coach of the Orlando Magic.
Steve Clifford Teams Coached
Head coach
- Orlando Magic
From 2018 - Charlotte Hornets
2013–2018
Assistant Coach
- 1985–1989 Saint Anselm
- 1989–1990 Fairfield
- 1990–1994 Boston University
- 1994–1995 Siena
- 1999–2000 East Carolina
- 2001–2003 New York Knicks
- 2003–2007 Houston Rockets
- 2007–2012 Orlando Magic
- 2012–2013 Los Angeles Lakers
Steve Clifford Health
In 2017, Clifford fell ill and after an examination by a team doctor, Hornets officials announced Clifford would take an indefinite medical leave of absence.
He spent 5½ weeks away from the Hornets. After a barrage of medical tests ruled out a brain tumor or a stroke or something else, doctors determined that a persistent lack of sleep had caused Clifford’s debilitating headaches. A neurologist informed Clifford he needed to do more than change the way he worked; Clifford needed to change the way he lived. He needed to devote more time to sleeping.
“Going through it was professionally the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to go through,” Clifford says now. “It impacted our team in a bad way. I feel terrible about it.
“Now, personally, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me.” He says he feels healthier now than he’s felt in years.