Dan Burke (basketball)

Dan Burke (born April 3, 1959, in Lynwood, California) is an assistant coach for the NBA Indiana Pacers.^[1] Prior to joining the Pacers, Burke spent eight years as video coordinator and scout for the Portland Trail Blazers (1989–1997).^[2]

In his 19 seasons with the Pacers, the team reached the playoffs 14 times, including six Eastern Conference Finals appearances and one NBA Finals appearance. The Pacers have ranked in the league's top 10 defensive teams for the past five seasons, having the best Defense Rating in 2013-2014. They also ranked in the NBA's top 10 for Defensive Field Goal Percentage 13 times during the last 17 seasons.^[3]

With the Indiana Pacers, Burke has worked under Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Rick Carlisle, Jim O’Brien, Frank Vogel, and Nate McMillan.

On May 16, 2016, when Larry Bird was asked about his priorities heading into free agency, he said, "[Burke] been a very important part over 19 years of what we’ve done here. It’s important for me that he would be my first free agent."^[4]

Burke spent 8 seasons with the Trail Blazers and went to the playoffs each time including three Western Conference finals and two NBA Finals appearances in 1990 & 1992. During is time with the Blazers, Burke worked under Rick Adelman and PJ Carlesimo. ^[5]

He has been a head coach in the NBA Summer League nine different times.

References