Clarence Tyson
July 23, 2020
Phil Handy
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 24/08/71
- Place of Birth: San Leandro, California (USA)
- Position: GRD
- Height (CM): 195
- Weight (KG): 88
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Skyline College (1992–1993) / Hawaii (1993–1995)
- NBL DEBUT: 21/10/00
- AGE AT DEBUT: 29
- LAST NBL GAME: 19/04/02
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 30
- NBL History: Melbourne 2001 | West Sydney 2002
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Phil Handy was born in San Leandro, California (USA) and attended Pilar Blanco High School.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Phil Handy made his NBL debut with the Melbourne Tigers at 29 years of age. He scored 17 points in his first game.
2000/01
The Tigers would see several new faces join the squad this season after losing both Bennett Davison (to Europe) and Warrick Giddey to injury. David Smith (via North Melbourne), Stephen Hoare (via West Sydney) and Nathan Taylor (via Victoria). Guard Phil Handy was signed as a import replacement for Bennett Davison, and Melbourne began the season winning five of their first eight matches.
Around this time, Phil Handy (10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists) joined Giddey on the injury list (missing eight games), so Jason Sedlock (3.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists) was signed as an injury replacement during Handy’s absence. At the mid-way point of the season, Melbourne received the bonus of long-serving guard Lanard Copeland gaining his Australian citizenship and qualifying as a local player. To take advantage of that, Melbourne used the additional import spot to sign former Townsville star Clarence Tyson (3.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) for the remaining 14 games.
This season saw Daniel Egan (11.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.0 blocks) develop into a key part of the Tiger’s rotation, Copeland (20.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.0 steals) continue to score buckets as Gaze (29.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.8 assists) finished as the league’s highest scorer and Mark Bradtke (21.3 points, 14.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks) led the league in rebounds while also being selected to the All-NBL First team.
With Melbourne entering their final ten games, they sat just outside the top six and with Lindsey Gaze trying to balance the incoming talent with the Tigers’ existing core, they went on a five-game losing streak to drop out of the playoff race. A three-game winning streak to end the season came too late, and Melbourne finished in seventh spot (13-15), missing out on the playoffs by three wins. This would be the first time Melbourne would finish with a losing record and miss the playoffs since 1988.
WEST SYDNEY RAZORBACKS
2001/02
With the Razorbacks having missed the playoffs each year since joining the league in 1999 General Manager Robbie Cadee responded by landing Sam MacKinnon, the NBL’s biggest name free agent that year, from the Townsville Crocodiles.
It was thought that pairing MacKinnon with the core group of John Rillie, Simon Dwight, Bruce Bolden and Derek Rucker (Captain) was all that was needed to deliver a championship to the Razorbacks. However, due to a knee injury sustained whilst playing for Townsville, MacKinnon would miss the entire season, forcing the remaining group to step up in his absence, and step up they did.
John Rillie would lead the team, averaging 22.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists while leading the league in three-point percentage (47.4%). Simon Dwight would lead the league in blocks (3.7 per game) and win the league’s Best Defensive Player award after averaging 17.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Handy was also key to the team’s success, adding 11.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game as well.
Even without their best player (MacKinnon), the Razorbacks would finish the season with a record of 16-14 and lock up the fifth spot on the ladder and a playoff opportunity. The Razorbacks made quite a name for themselves in the postseason, first upsetting second seed Perth in two straight games, then after suffering a 93-114 loss to the Melbourne Tigers in the semifinals, West Sydney rebounded with wins in game two (125-109) and game three (115-103). As a result, West Sydney become the first Sydney team to reach the NBL Grand Final in the leagues (then) 24-year history.
In the Grand Final series the Razorbacks would lose game one to Adelaide (106–97) before evening the series with a 103–100 victory at the State Sports Centre in Sydney. The Grand Final then returned to Adelaide where the 36ers made quick work of the Razorbacks, closing out the series 125–107.
Phil Handy played two seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Melbourne Tigers and the West Sydney Razorbacks. He averaged 10.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 58 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-02 | 30 | West Sydney | 16-14 (5) | 38 | 997.0 | 423 | 111 | 89 | 24 | 87 | 16 | 6 | 99 | 130 | 156 | 354 | 44% | 54 | 125 | 43% | 57 | 70 | 81% | 55% | 52% | 23 |
| 2000-01 | 29 | Melbourne | 13-15 (7) | 20 | 532.0 | 201 | 48 | 45 | 8 | 40 | 8 | 2 | 61 | 68 | 82 | 190 | 43% | 14 | 45 | 31% | 23 | 29 | 79% | 49% | 47% | 20 | Totals | 58 | 1529 | 624 | 159 | 134 | 32 | 127 | 24 | 8 | 160 | 198 | 238 | 544 | 43.8% | 68 | 170 | 40.0% | 80 | 99 | 80.8% | 53% | 50% | 23 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-02 | 30 | West Sydney | 16-14 (5) | 38 | 26.2 | 11.1 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 9.3 | 44% | 1.4 | 3.3 | 43% | 1.5 | 1.8 | 81% | 55% | 52% | 23 |
| 2000-01 | 29 | Melbourne | 13-15 (7) | 20 | 26.6 | 10.1 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 9.5 | 43% | 0.7 | 2.3 | 31% | 1.2 | 1.5 | 79% | 49% | 47% | 20 | Total | 58 | 26.4 | 10.8 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 9.4 | 43.8% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 40.0% | 1.2 | 2.9 | 80.8% | 53% | 50% | 23 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 23 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
|---|
NBA EXPERIENCE
Handy played for the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers during the pre-season and in the Continental Basketball Association for the Omaha Racers, Grand Rapids Mackers (via dispersal draft from Omaha) and La Crosse Bobcats (rights traded to Fort Wayne Fury on 12 October 1998).
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- France - SLUC Nancy Basket (1997) | Israel - Macabi Hadera (1998–1999) | England - Manchester (1999–2000)
Handy began his overseas career in 1997 with SLUC Nancy Basket in France.
He continued his international run in Israel during the 1998–99 season with Macabi Hadera.
Handy joined the Manchester Giants in England for the 1999–2000 season as a guard, and he scored 19 points in a pre-season game in Hemel Hempstead on August 21, 1999.
In the 1999–2000 British Basketball League season, which was sponsored as the Dairylea Dunkers Championship and ran from September 15, 1999 to April 8, 2000, Manchester went 31–5 to win the Northern Conference and then won the Championship Play-offs under head coach Nick Nurse, with Handy also part of Giants campaigns that finished runner-up in both the National Cup and the BBL Trophy that season.
COLLEGE
Phil Handy played his college basketball at Skyline College in 1992–93 before transferring to the University of Hawai‘i for the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons, turning himself from a junior college scorer into a major-conference defensive-minded guard in the WAC.
At Skyline College in 1992–93, Handy scored 514 points, a total that places him among the school’s all-time scoring leaders, before making the jump to Division I at Hawai‘i the next season.
After a year of junior college, Handy attended University of Hawaii from 1993 to 1995, and during his tenure with the Rainbows he was a WAC champion and a first Team All defense selection.
Handy made an immediate impact at Hawai‘i in 1993–94, playing 33 games with 32 starts while averaging 11.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game in 31.0 minutes, with shooting splits of 39.4 percent from the field, 28.1 percent from three, and 63.6 percent from the free-throw line.
That 1993–94 season ended with a conference breakthrough as Hawai‘i won the WAC championship in 1994, and Handy’s role was highlighted by his reputation as a defensive stopper while still providing steady scoring and secondary playmaking in the starting group.
In his senior season at Hawai‘i in 1994–95, Handy averaged 8.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game as a key rotation guard for the Rainbow Warriors under Riley Wallace, giving the team another experienced perimeter option across a full WAC schedule.
Across his two seasons at Hawai‘i from 1993–94 to 1994–95, Handy averaged 10.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game, with his college résumé also noting WAC All-Defense recognition and his place on the 1994 WAC championship team.
AWARDS
- BBL champion (2000)
-
CBA All-Rookie First Team (1996)
As assistant coach:
3× NBA champion (2016, 2019, 2020)
COACHING HISTORY
Upon his retirement from the game, he focussed in on player development spending time with Kyrie Irving, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James along the way.
Handy has served as player development coach for the Los Angeles Lakers under Mike Brown. Still under Brown, he served as assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He then moved to the Toronto Raptors as assistant for Nick Nurse. He then moved back to the Lakers under Frank Vogel.
Handy went to 6 consecutive NBA Finals, 4 with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2015–2018), 1 with the Toronto Raptors (2019), and 1 with the Los Angeles Lakers (2020) winning championships in 2016, 2019, and 2020.
Related
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