Jacque Vaughn is a former professional basketball player and current coach who had a successful career in the NBA. He played college basketball at the University of Kansas, where he was a standout point guard and helped lead the Jayhawks to the Final Four in 1993.
After college, Vaughn was selected by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 1997 NBA draft. He spent the first four years of his career with the Jazz, serving as a backup point guard behind John Stockton. Vaughn was known for his solid defense and steady play, and he helped the Jazz reach the NBA Finals in 1998 and 1999.
In 2001, Vaughn was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, where he played for two seasons before being traded again to the Orlando Magic. It was in Orlando where Vaughn had his best season as a pro, averaging 6.6 points and 4.8 assists per game in the 2002-03 season. He played for the Magic for four seasons before being traded to the New Jersey Nets in 2006.
Vaughn played one season with the Nets before being traded to the San Antonio Spurs, where he served as a backup point guard for two seasons. He won an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2007, and retired from playing after the 2008-09 season.
After retiring, Vaughn began his coaching career as an assistant with the Spurs. He then served as an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic and the Brooklyn Nets before being named head coach of the Magic in 2012. Vaughn coached the Magic for two and a half seasons before being fired in 2015.
Vaughn then returned to the Spurs as an assistant coach, where he worked until 2019. In 2020, he was named head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, taking over for interim coach Jacque Vaughn. In his first season as head coach, Vaughn led the Nets to a 7-3 record in the NBA bubble in Orlando, but the team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
Overall, Jacque Vaughn had a successful career as a player and has continued to make a name for himself as a coach in the NBA. He is known for his steady play and solid defense as a player, and for his ability to develop young talent as a coach.
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