James Mitchell Cleamons (born September 13, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player and current coach.

Playing career

He played collegiately at the Ohio State University, and was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 13th pick of the 1971 NBA draft. He had a nine-year NBA career for four teams (the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the New York Knicks, and the Washington Bullets). In 1976, Cleamons was selected to the NBA All-Defense 2nd team.

Coaching career

Cleamons worked as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls from 1989 to 1996. He was the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks for slightly over one year, from 1996 to 1997. He was then the head coach of the Chicago Condors of the American Basketball league, a short-lived women's professional basketball league in the mid Nineties. He also served as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. For a few games during his tenure with the Lakers, he served as acting head coach while Phil Jackson was absent. In 2011, Cleamons became a coach in the Chinese Basketball Association. In 2013, he became an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks. In 2014, Cleamons joined the New York Knicks coaching staff under Derek Fisher. In 2017, Cleamons accepted a position as an assistant coach for the Yeshiva University of Los Angeles (YULA) high school boys basketball team.

Head coaching record

College

NBA