Royal Ivey

Royal Ivey

Ivey with the 76ers in 2013
Houston Rockets
Position	Assistant coach
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1981-12-20) December 20, 1981 (age 43) Harlem, New York, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school	Benjamin N. Cardozo (Queens, New York) Blair Academy (Blairstown, New Jersey)
College	Texas (2000–2004)
NBA draft	2004: 2nd round, 37th overall pick
Selected by the Atlanta Hawks
Playing career	2004–2014
Position	Shooting guard / point guard
Number	36, 12, 11, 7
Coaching career	2014–present
Career history
As player:
2004–2007	Atlanta Hawks
2007–2008	Milwaukee Bucks
2008–2010	Philadelphia 76ers
2010	Milwaukee Bucks
2010–2012	Oklahoma City Thunder
2012–2013	Philadelphia 76ers
2014	Oklahoma City Thunder
2014	Guangdong Southern Tigers
As coach:
2014–2016	Oklahoma City Blue (assistant)
2016–2018	Oklahoma City Thunder (assistant)
2018–2020	New York Knicks (assistant)
2020–2023	Brooklyn Nets (assistant)
2023–present	Houston Rockets (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
2× Big 12 All-Defensive Team (2003, 2004)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Royal Terence Ivey (/rɔɪˈæl/ roy-AL;^[1] born December 20, 1981) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also the head coach of the South Sudan national team, who he coached at the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympics. He played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns before spending 10 years in the NBA.

Early life and college

Ivey was born in Harlem in the Manhattan borough of New York City and started on the basketball team of Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, leading the team to a PSAL championship.^[2] He attended Blair Academy for a post-graduate year.^[3]

Ivey played college basketball at the University of Texas at Austin, in which he finished as the school's all-time career leader in games started (126).^[4]

Professional career

Ivey was selected with the 37th overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks.

On September 18, 2007, Ivey signed a one-year contract with the Bucks.^[4]

On July 24, 2008, Ivey agreed to terms with the Philadelphia 76ers.^[5]

On June 15, 2009, Philadelphia announced that Ivey declined the player option on his contract for the 2009–10 season, making him an unrestricted free agent. However, he re-signed with the 76ers in August 2009.^[6]

On February 18, 2010, Ivey was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks along with Primoz Brezec in exchange for Jodie Meeks and Francisco Elson.^[7]

On July 21, 2010, Ivey signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder.^[8] He reached the NBA Finals with the Thunder in 2012, but the team lost to the Miami Heat.

On July 27, 2012, Ivey returned to the 76ers.^[9]

On September 30, 2013, he signed with the Atlanta Hawks.^[10] However, he was waived on October 25.^[11]

On January 16, 2014, he signed a 10-day contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder.^[12] On January 26, 2014, his 10-day contract expired and the Thunder chose not to offer him a second 10-day contract.^[13]

On January 29, 2014, he signed with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of China for rest of the 2013–14 season.^[14]

Coaching career

On September 29, 2014, Ivey was named an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA Development League for the 2014–15 season, effectively ending his 10-year playing career.^[15]

On July 1, 2016, Ivey was elevated from a player development assistant with the Blue to an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder.^[16]

On June 7, 2018, Ivey joined the New York Knicks as an assistant coach to David Fizdale.^[17] Ivey remained with the Knicks after Fizdale's firing and served under interim head coach Mike Miller.^[18][19]

On November 11, 2020, the Brooklyn Nets hired Ivey as an assistant coach under Steve Nash.^[20][21]

On July 3, 2023, Ivey was hired by the Houston Rockets as an assistant coach.^[22]

South Sudan national team

On May 3, 2021, Ivey signed a contract to become the head coach of the South Sudan national team, representing the youngest country in the world. He coached the team at AfroBasket 2021, the country's first major tournament.^[23] Ivey and South Sudan won the country's first AfroBasket game against Uganda,^[24] and eventually reached the quarterfinals where the team was eliminated by defending champions Tunisia.

Under Ivey's coaching, South Sudan qualified for their first ever World Cup in 2023 after going undefeated in first round qualifying. They went on to earn a first ever Olympic berth at the 2024 games by finishing as the best African team at the 2023 World Cup.^[25]

Ivey and South Sudan participated at the 2024 Olympics, where they won their first game over Puerto Rico, but went on to lose to Serbia and United States, thus ending their campaign in the preliminary round.^[26] Despite their elimination, the team was widely praised by media and competitors for their play.^[27]

Personal life

During the 2011 NBA lockout, Ivey returned to the University of Texas to finish his degree in applied learning and development. He got married in 2023 to Deanna Herrington.^[28]

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2004–05	Atlanta	62	5	13.0	.429	.333	.701	1.4	1.7	.6	.1	3.5
2005–06	Atlanta	73	66	13.4	.439	.400	.727	1.3	1.0	.3	.1	3.6
2006–07	Atlanta	53	18	10.2	.448	.313	.686	1.0	.8	.5	.1	3.0
2007–08	Milwaukee	75	20	19.2	.394	.327	.726	1.6	2.1	.6	.1	5.6
2008–09	Philadelphia	71	0	12.1	.332	.342	.791	1.1	.6	.5	.1	3.0
2009–10	Philadelphia	26	0	9.1	.473	.500	.857	1.0	.7	.4	.1	2.7
2009–10	Milwaukee	18	0	5.0	.321	.182	.600	.4	.6	.5	.0	1.3
2010–11	Oklahoma City	25	0	6.2	.421	.438	1.000	.6	.3	.2	.0	1.6
2011–12	Oklahoma City	34	0	10.4	.356	.340	.125	.7	.3	.4	.0	2.1
2012–13	Philadelphia	53	5	13.2	.431	.420	.563	1.1	.6	.4	.1	3.2
2013–14	Oklahoma City	2	0	2.5	.000	.000	.000	.5	.0	.0	.0	.0
Career		492	114	12.5	.406	.361	.706	1.1	1.0	.5	.1	3.3

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2009	Philadelphia	6	0	7.5	.273	.286	.750	.7	.0	.5	.0	1.8
2010	Milwaukee	3	0	3.7	.333	.000	.000	.0	.7	.0	.3	1.3
2011	Oklahoma City	2	0	3.0	1.000	1.000	.000	.5	.5	.0	.0	3.0
2012	Oklahoma City	5	0	4.2	.364	.400	.500	.6	.2	.4	.0	2.2
Career		16	0	5.1	.367	.375	.667	.5	.3	.3	.1	2.0

References

1. "2023-24 start of season NBA pronunciation guide" (Press release). National Basketball Association. October 24, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
2. Dicker, Ron. "High School Basketball: New York State Championships; Rice and Cardozo Advance to Class A Final", The New York Times, March 27, 1999. Accessed September 14, 2018.
3. Behind the Numbers: Royal Ivey, NBA.com. Accessed September 14, 2018. "'In high school I wore number 12,' says Ivey, who led Cardozo HS in Queens to their first-ever New York PSAL title during his senior year before doing a post graduate year at Blair Academy in New Jersey."
4. Bucks sign Royal Ivey, September 18, 2007
5. "Sixers reach agreement with free-agent Ivey | Philadelphia Daily News | 07/24/2008". Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
6. 76ers bring back Royal Ivey
7. "Bucks Acquire Ivey, Brezec from 76ers". NBA.com. February 18, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2010.
8. Thunder sign free agent Royal Ivey Archived July 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
9. Sixers Sign Free Agent Guard Royal Ivey
10. "Atlanta Hawks fill up their training camp roster". Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
11. "Atlanta Hawks waive Royal Ivey". Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
12. Thunder Signs Royal Ivey to 10-Day Contract
13. Royal Ivey's 10-day contract with the Thunder expires; he will leave for China
14. Royal Ivey signs with Guangdong Southern Tigers
15. "Thunder Announces Basketball Operations Staff Promotions and Additions". NBA.com. September 29, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
16. "Thunder Announces Coaching Staff Update". NBA.com. July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
17. "New York Knicks Announce Coaching Hires". NBA.com. June 7, 2018. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
18. "Knicks Relieve David Fizdale of Head Coaching Duties". NBA.com. December 6, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
19. "Knicks fire David Fizdale after Eastern Conference-worst 4-18 mark". ESPN.com. December 6, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
20. @BrooklynNets (November 11, 2020). "OFFICIAL: We've added Royal Ivey as an assistant coach on head coach Steve Nash's staff" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
21. "Nets add new assistant in Royal Ivey". NetsDaily. November 11, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
22. "Rockets Head Coach Ime Udoka Announces Coaching Staff". NBA.com. July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
23. "Ivey hired to head up Senior Men at AfroBasket". South Sudan Basketball Federation. May 3, 202. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
24. "South Sudan win first-ever AfroBasket game". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
25. "2023 - The year South Sudan took over African basketball". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
26. "Bogdanovic, Jokic hold off South Sudan, pull Greece to QFs". www.fiba.basketball. August 3, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
27. "South Sudan's unique attire at Paris Olympics draws praise from LeBron James". English.Mathrubhumi. July 27, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
28. England, Natalie (December 7, 2011). "Texas Ex Royal Ivey Uses NBA Lockout to Finish Degree". alcalde.texasexes.org. Retrieved May 8, 2012.

External links

• Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
• Royal Ivey at texassports.com