George Karl Birthday & Fun Facts

George Karl Birthday Highlights

Birth Name

George Matthew Karl

Place Of Birth

Penn Hills, USA

Age

72 years old

Birth Date

May 12 1951

George Karl Facts

Child Star?

no

Occupation

Basketball Coach, Basketball Player

Education & Qualifications

University of North Carolina

Children

Coby Karl, Kelci Karl, Kaci Karl

George Karl was born in the United States, on May 12, 1951, in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania.

George Karl is a former NBA guard and basketball coach by profession. He spent five years playing for San Antonio Spurs.

Following his playing days, George Karl worked as an assistant coach for the Spurs for two years. As a head coach of the Continental Basketball Association's Montana Golden Nuggets, Karl began his coaching career. From 1981 as well as 1983, Karl led the squad to the CBA Finals, receiving Coach of the Year in each season. Despite its on-court accomplishment, the franchise collapsed in 1983.

The basketball coach, George Karl, came back to the NBA in 1983 as the director of player acquisition for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Following Tom Nissalke's termination after the season in May 1984, Karl was named head coach in late July at the age of 33. The Cleveland Cavaliers made the finals for the first time in six seasons in his first season. Karl was fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers in mid-March following a poor 25–42 open. Cleveland completed 4–11 with assistant Gene Littles to end 29–53 (.354). He worked as a scout as well as a consultant for the Milwaukee Bucks over the next two months.

What is George Karl’s net worth?

The net worth of the NBA guard and basketball coach from Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, George Karl, is yet to be known.

How much does George Karl earn per year?

The yearly earnings of the basketball coach from Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, George Karl, are not known.

How Tall is George Karl?

The height of the basketball player from Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, George Karl, is 6 ft 2 in (188 cm).

How Old is George Karl?

George Karl is 71 years old as of May 2022.

Karl rarely talks about his childhood. Karl was a standout athlete at Penn Hills High School, and he graduated in 1969.  He was a three-year college player at the University of North Carolina, where Dean Smith coached him. In 1973, his senior year, the Tar Heels came third in the NIT with a 25–8 overall mark.

Who is George Karl’s Spouse?

Karl wedded Cathy Cramer and had two children named Kelci Karl and Coby Karl. Coby Karl had a short stint with the Lakers. However, the couple split in 1998. Karl started dating Kim Van Deraa, and the couple had a daughter named Kaci Karl.

Best Known For...

George Karl was appointed the head coach of the Golden State Warriors in late May 1986, after spearheading them to the finals for the first time in ten years after a 30–52 season last year. They met the Utah Jazz in a best–of–five set in round one. The Warriors won a pivotal fifth match in Utah to progress to the NBA semifinals. Karl's squad was anticipated to be routed by the veteran Lakers in the quarterfinals, and they swiftly lost the first three matches. In match 4, the Warriors faced elimination and rallied back to win 129–121 after trailing by twelve points in the fourth quarter. In the Western Conference finals, the Lakers only lost one match on their way to their first of back–to–back titles.

The Warriors had a shaky start to the 1987–88 season, so team management chose to move Purvis Short, Sleepy Floyd, as well as Joe Barry Carroll, to save funds and bring in younger players. George Karl was now missing his top four players from the 1987 playoff team while Chris Mullin was undergoing rehab. He departed from the Warriors with 18 matches left in the season, unhappy with the team's approach. Though he departed, there has been conjecture that Karl was dismissed because he inked a non-disclosure deal and had his term bought out.

George Karl was chosen head coach of the Albany Patroons of the CBA on September 5, 1988, and led them to a 36–18 record. Karl managed Real Madrid of the Liga ACB in 1989. Madrid ended with a 69–17 record despite the death of Fernando Martin Espina, their best player. Real Madrid finished third in the Spanish league, reached the Spanish cup semifinals, as well as lost the Saporta Cup final, Europe's second most prestigious cup competition.

In 1990, George Karl came back to coach the Patroons, bringing them a 50–six record, including 28 wins at home. Karl was selected CBA Coach of the Year for the third time for his achievements. Karl went back to Real Madrid for the 1991–92 season before returning to the NBA. Real Madrid earned the Saporta Cup, finished second in the Spanish league, and was eliminated from the Spanish Cup playoffs.

George Karl was appointed the head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics on January 23, 1992, succeeding K.C. Jones. Karl spearheaded a late-season rally, finishing 27–15 as well as earning the sixth spot in the playoffs. They beat his old team, the Golden State Warriors, in four matches in the first round but were defeated in round two by the Utah Jazz.

In his second (and first complete) season as coach of the SuperSonics, the squad improved from 47–35 to 55–27 but also advanced to the Western Conference playoffs as the third seed. In the first round, they beat the Utah Jazz 3–2, and then in the semifinals, they beat the Houston Rockets 4–3. Seattle was defeated in a seven-game Western Conference Finals series against the Charles Barkley-led Phoenix Suns, dropping one match shy of the NBA Finals.

Seattle dominated 63 matches the next season, giving them their first Pacific Division title since 1979. George Karl guided the Sonics to the top spot in the Western Conference amidst a feud with mid-season newcomer Kendall Gill. Seattle dominated the first two matches at home against the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets in the initial round of the playoffs but was defeated in the next three, including the last home match, to be the first top seed to fall to an eighth-seeded team in playoffs history.

After ending the season with a 57–25 record, Seattle lost in the first round of the playoffs again in 1994–95. The fourth-seeded Seattle SuperSonics were upset by the fifth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers, who were headed by point guard Nick Van Exel, who disputed with George Karl during the 1993 NBA rookie camps. After back-to-back first-round defeats, fans, as well as the media, demanded Karl's firing, but the team rather dealt Kendall Gill to Charlotte for Hersey Hawkins, demonstrating their faith in Karl.

George Karl bounced back from the SuperSonics' dismal playoff ouster with the finest regular season in club history, going on a 14-game winning streak in February and March to conclude the 1995–96 season with a franchise 64–18 record. The SuperSonics upset the Sacramento Kings three wins to one in the first round, then swept the two-time defending champion Houston Rockets to progress to the Western Conference Finals, led by All-Stars Shawn Kemp as well as Gary Payton, the latter voted Defensive Player of the Year. They advanced to their first NBA Finals since 1979 after defeating the Utah Jazz in seven matches.

The SuperSonics defeated the Chicago Bulls 72–10 in the NBA Finals. As a result of Michael Jordan's scoring, Dennis Rodman's rebounds, and the Bulls' team defense, Seattle immediately fell behind 0–3 and faced a wipe. George Karl, as well as the SuperSonics, replied with a blowout victory in match 4 and a close victory in match 5 to cut the overall margin to 3–2. In Chicago, the Bulls won the series, including match 6. Karl's coaching career reached its pinnacle with 64 victories as well as a Finals slot. During the next two seasons, Seattle went 118–46 (.720), topping the Pacific Division both times.

In round two of the 1997 playoffs, Seattle recovered a 3–1 shortfall to set the seventh match versus Houston but was defeated. Seattle was eliminated from the Western Conference playoffs the next year by the Los Angeles Lakers. George Karl was fired in late May, two weeks after the team was eliminated, due to back-to-back second-round playoff failures and a worsening connection with general manager Wally Walker.

With George Karl, the SuperSonics went 384–150 (.719) as well as equaled 59 victories per season, next only to Chicago. He led Seattle to the playoffs in each of his seven seasons in charge. The SuperSonics have won four division titles and have twice finished first in the Western Conference. Despite their regular-season dominance, Karl's SuperSonics only had a 40–40 postseason record and also only once reached the NBA Finals.

After being enticed by an unusually hefty contract offer, George Karl was hired to head coach the Milwaukee Bucks on August 30, 1998. Karl helped restore a failing franchise by making the playoffs in each of his first three seasons and steadily raising the team's win statistics.

The Bucks failed in the first round of the playoffs in each of his first two seasons, falling three matches to two in the second season after falling in a three-game wipe in the first. George Karl steered the Bucks to their first division title in 15 years in his third season, culminating in a trip to the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals, spearheaded by a big three of Glenn Robinson, Ray Allen, as well as Sam Cassell.

The Bucks had high hopes entering his fourth season, but they ended ninth in the conference and failed to make the playoffs. The Bucks, who were ranked as high as fourth in the conferences midseason, crumbled in the final match and were knocked out of the playoffs. George Karl was apparently different from Robinson and Allen while dealing with ailments.

Robinson was dealt with Atlanta after the season. Allen was dealt with Seattle for Gary Payton at the 2002-03 end of the transfer window. Although Payton, as well as George Karl, had achievements together in Seattle, and the trade gave Michael Redd additional minutes, it left Cassell the oddball and split apart a spine that had only two years earlier been one game away from the NBA Finals.

The Bucks completed 42–40 to qualify for the playoffs in 2002–03 but were ousted in the first round in six matches. Cassell was dealt with Minnesota after George Karl pressed for the organization to draught point guard TJ Ford, rendering him expendable. Karl's strongest backer in Milwaukee, GM Ernie Grunfeld, left the franchise immediately after the draught; new GM Larry Harris chose to take the organization in a new way and dismissed Karl in July.  The Bucks didn't even win a playoff series until 2019, following Karl's exit.

In the 2002 FIBA World Championship, George Karl coached the US national squad.

George Karl was appointed head coach of the Denver Nuggets on January 27, 2005, succeeding assistant coach Michael Cooper. Karl had an instant influence on the Denver Nuggets, leading them from a 17–25 mark in the first half of the 2004–05 season to a 32–8 record in the second half to finish 49–33. The Spurs ended up winning the NBA Championship that season after defeating them in the playoffs.

The basketball coach, George Karl, was diagnosed with prostate cancer on July 27, 2005, but was permitted to resume coaching after treatment.  That season, he guided the Nuggets to their first Northwest division crown in 18 years. Karl was chastised for his part in the Knicks–Nuggets altercation on December 16, 2006, when he was accused of attempting to run up the score and embarrass Isiah Thomas by retaining his starters in the final minutes of a rout. When the Denver Nuggets beat the SuperSonics 112–98 on December 28, 2006, Karl became the 12th coach in NBA history to reach 800 victories. That season, the first All-Star picks of Denver Nuggets since 2001 were Carmelo Anthony as well as Allen Iverson.

On February 14, George Karl coached the Western Conference All-Stars at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game.

The basketball coach, George Karl, was detected with curable neck and throat cancer following the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, according to a news conference held after the match. While undergoing treatment, he was put on a leave of departure from the Denver Nuggets for the balance of the season. Karl underwent chemotherapy and coached every game of the 2010–11 NBA season, becoming the eighth coach in the NBA history to reach 1,000 victories on December 10, 2010. Throughout the season, Carmelo asked for and received a transfer to New York, and Karl was suddenly in charge of a club that was significantly younger and inexperienced. Karl was named NBA Coach of the Year for the 2012–13 season after his work in pulling the club together without Carmelo Anthony, their offensive success without a typical go-to–scorer, plus his guidance for the league's third-youngest squad. Karl was dismissed by Denver on June 6, 2013, merely 29 days after being voted Coach of the Year.

George Karl signed a four-year, $15 million agreement becoming the head coach of the Sacramento Kings on February 12, 2015, following many weeks of negotiations and discussion. On February 17, the Kings officially unveiled him. The Sacramento Kings finished 11–19 in 30 matches in his coaching career debut. After a poor 2015–16 season in which the Kings went 33–49, Karl was dismissed by the Kings on April 14, 2016. Karl was one match away from becoming the NBA's 2,000th coach.

Charity Work

Karl is a strong supporter of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and a representative for their basketball effort, Hoops for St. Jude.

What Awards has George Karl Won?

Karl won the Jimmy V Award in 2010. He earned the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2013.

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