View source for Butch van Breda Kolff

{{Short description|American basketball player and coach (1922–2007)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Butch van Breda Kolff
| image = Butch van Breda Kolff 1968.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Van Breda Kolff, circa 1968
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3 
| weight_lb = 185
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|10|28|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Glen Ridge, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|2007|8|22|1922|10|28}}
| death_place = [[Spokane, Washington]], U.S.
| high_school = [[The Hill School]]<br>([[Pottstown, Pennsylvania]])
| college = [[Princeton Tigers men's basketball|Princeton]] (1942–1946)
| career_start = 1946
| career_end = 1950
| career_number = 11, 17
| career_position = [[Shooting guard]] / [[small forward]]
| coach_start = 1951
| coach_end = 1994
| years1 = 1946–1950
| team1 = [[New York Knicks]]
| cyears1 = 1951–1955
| cteam1 = [[Lafayette Leopards men's basketball|Lafayette]]
| cyears2 = 1955–1962
| cteam2 = [[Hofstra Pride men's basketball|Hofstra]]
| cyears3 = 1962–1967
| cteam3 = [[Princeton Tigers men's basketball|Princeton]]
| cyears4 = 1967–1969
| cteam4 = [[Los Angeles Lakers]]
| cyears5 = 1969–1972
| cteam5 = [[Detroit Pistons]]
| cyears6 = 1972–1973
| cteam6 = [[Phoenix Suns]]
| cyears7 = 1973–1974
| cteam7 = [[Memphis Tams]]
| cyears8 = 1974–1977
| cteam8 = [[New Orleans Jazz (NBA team)|New Orleans Jazz]]
| cyears9 = 1977–1979
| cteam9 = [[New Orleans Privateers men's basketball|New Orleans]]
| cyears10 = 1979–1981
| cteam10 = [[New Orleans Pride]]
| cyears11 = 1984–1988
| cteam11 = Lafayette
| cyears12 = 1988–1994
| cteam12 = [[Hofstra Pride men's basketball|Hofstra]]
| highlights = 
'''As coach:'''
* [[List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach|NCAA Division I Regional – Final Four]]  (1965)
*[[Middle Three Conference|Middle Three]] regular season (1952)
*4× [[Ivy League]] regular season champion (1963–1965, 1967)
*[[Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament|Sun Belt tournament]] champion ([[1978 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament|1978]])
*[[East Coast Conference (Division I)|ECC]] regular season champion (1988)
*[[East Coast Conference (Division I) men's basketball tournament|ECC tournament]] champion (1994)
| cstats_league1 = College
| cwin1 = 482
| closs1 = 272
| cstats_league2 = NBA
| cwin2 = 287
| closs2 = 316
| cstats_league3  = [[Women's Professional Basketball League|WBL]]
| cwin3           = 39
| closs3          = 28
}}
'''Willem Hendrik''' "'''Butch'''" (sometimes "Bill")<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/04/27/archives/van-breda-kolff-leaves-princeton-to-coach-los-angeles-lakers-schaus.html|title=Van Breda Kolff Leaves Princeton to Coach Los Angeles Lakers; SCHAUS IS MOVING TO FRONT OFFICE Pilot of Los Angeles Five to Succeed Ailing Mohs as General Manager|accessdate=February 8, 2024|date=April 27, 1967|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> '''van Breda Kolff''' (October 28, 1922{{spaced ndash}}August 22, 2007) was an American [[basketball]] player and coach. He played four seasons for the [[New York Knicks]] before becoming a head coach at [[Lafayette Leopards men's basketball|Lafayette]]. Ultimately, 
he coached for eleven different teams in five classifications (NCAA, NBA, ABA, [[Women's Professional Basketball League]], [[United States Basketball League]]). He reached the NCAA Final Four and two NBA Finals while winning a championship in four different conferences.

==Biography==

===Early life and career===

Butch was born in [[Glen Ridge, New Jersey]], son of Dutch soccer player [[Jan van Breda Kolff (footballer)|Jan van Breda Kolff]]. He gained an affection for basketball while growing up in [[Montclair, New Jersey|Montclair]]. He attended [[The Hill School]] in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He then attended [[Princeton University]], where he played basketball for [[Franklin Cappon|Franklin "Cappy" Cappon]], and [[New York University]], where he also played basketball. He also played one season for the [[Princeton Tigers men's soccer|Princeton soccer team]] in 1946 as a [[midfielder]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/2016/6/27/mens-soccer-letterwinners |title=Men's Soccer Letterwinners |publisher=[[Princeton Tigers]] |access-date=July 12, 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712124541/https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/2016/6/27/mens-soccer-letterwinners |archive-date=July 12, 2023}}</ref> and was included in the [[United Soccer Coaches|NSCAA]] [[All-America]] first team.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nscaa.com/awards-detail.php?it=SC&yr=1946 |title=All-America Awards: Div SC (1946) |publisher=[[National Soccer Coaches Association of America]] |access-date=July 12, 2023 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115151306/http://www.nscaa.com/awards-detail.php?it=SC&yr=1946 |archive-date=November 15, 2006}}</ref>

Signed by the [[New York Knicks]] in 1946, he spent four seasons playing as a professional. The New York Knicks played in the [[Basketball Association of America]] (BAA), which merged with some of the better teams of  the [[National Basketball League (United States)|National Basketball League]] to form the National Basketball Association in (NBA) in 1949. In the four years (1946–50) van Breda Kolff played in the BAA and the NBA, he
turned in a relatively unimpressive performance, shooting just .305 from the field, .669 from the line, and averaging 4.7 points in 175 contests. He was elected team captain of the Knicks.

After leaving the NBA in 1950, van Breda Kolff began a coaching career. He took over as head coach at [[Lafayette College]], where he remained from 1951 to 1955. He also coached soccer and lacrosse at Lafayette.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-02-sp-56-story.html|title=They're Pushing Too Far|date=March 2, 1989|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> He then coached for [[Hofstra University]] from 1955 to 1962, and Princeton from 1962 to 1967. He is one of four men to have coached both an [[NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship|NCAA final Four]] team (Princeton, 1965) and an [[NBA Finals]] squad (the Los Angeles Lakers, [[1968 NBA Finals|1968]] and [[1969 NBA Finals|1969]]). (The others are [[Larry Brown (basketball)|Larry Brown]], [[Jack Ramsay]], and [[Fred Schaus]].)

Van Breda Kolff also spent time running a women's professional team and later coached a high school team in [[Picayune, Mississippi]], where he taught world history after passing the National Teacher Examination.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/04/sports/sports-people-van-breda-kolff-back.html?scp=268&sq=Princeton+basketball&st=nyt|title=Sports People; Van Breda Kolff Back|access-date=October 2, 2010|date=April 4, 1984|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> "Coaching is coaching", he once told a reporter. "Give me 10 players who want to work and learn the game and I'm happy. I don't count the house."

===Pro coaching career===
{{more citations needed|date=June 2018}}
Van Breda Kolff's success in college attracted the attention of the NBA. The Lakers hired him in 1967, and in his first season guided the team to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in six games. In his second campaign for the Lakers, his team — with [[Elgin Baylor]], [[Jerry West]], and [[Wilt Chamberlain]] — notched a 55–27 record and reached the Finals again, albeit with a slow start that saw Chamberlain and van Breda Kolff bicker, right down to having local newspapers take sides (the coach had the ''Times'' while Chamberlain had the ''Herald-Examiner''); Chamberlain later called him the worst coach he ever had.<ref>https://vault.si.com/vault/1969/01/27/on-topbut-in-trouble</ref>

Van Breda Kolff took tremendous flak for not allowing Chamberlain back in the game for the final minutes of Game 7 of the NBA Finals against Boston. Chamberlain picked up his fifth foul midway through the fourth quarter, and shortly thereafter asked out of the game with knee pain. With backup center [[Mel Counts]] in the game, the Lakers cut a seven-point deficit to two points. Chamberlain then motioned to van Breda Kolff that he was ready to go back in the game, to which van Breda Kolff told him "sit your big ass down" and "we don't need you." The Lakers lost by two points. On May 19, van Breda Kolff resigned before he could be fired by Lakers owner [[Jack Kent Cooke]]. Game 7 marked the last time he would coach an NBA team in a postseason game.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/05/20/archives/van-breda-kolff-quits-lakers-and-is-expected-to-be-named-pistons.html | title=Van Breda Kolff Quits Lakers and is Expected to be Named Pistons' Coach; ACTION IS LINKED TO CHAMBERLAIN | work=The New York Times | date=May 20, 1969 | last1=Goldaper | first1=Sam }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1984/02/20/i-made-my-own-bed-ive-got-to-lie-in-it | title='I Made My Own Bed, I've Got to Lie in It' | work=Sports Illustrated Vault &#124; SI.com }}</ref>

Van Breda Kolff then went on to Detroit, where he coached the Pistons for just over two seasons. In 1970–71, he guided the team to a 45–37 mark, Detroit's first winning season in fifteen years. He left the team ten games into the next season, stating in a 1984 ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' article that he quit after being cursed at repeatedly by frustrated fans.<ref>https://newspaperarchive.com/danville-register-nov-02-1971-p-12/</ref> Van Breda Kolff coached the Phoenix Suns for the first seven games of the 1972–73 campaign before being fired and replaced by [[Jerry Colangelo]]. He did a stint with Memphis of the [[American Basketball Association]] in 1973–74. From 1974 to 1977, van Breda Kolff coached the New Orleans Jazz, taking over in the middle of the 1974–75 season and departing with a 14–12 record part way through the 1976–77 season.

While van Breda Kolff was coach, he pushed for New Orleans to relinquish the rights to [[Moses Malone]] in exchange for a #1 draft pick, and then traded that pick and two other #1s to the Lakers for [[Gail Goodrich]]. Malone would later become a superstar but Goodrich suffered an Achilles' tendon injury that would end his career in 1979. The Jazz' #1 pick in 1979 (the first overall choice) was used by the Lakers to select [[Magic Johnson]]. Breda Kolff left the NBA ranks for good in 1976, taking with him a career NBA coaching record of 266–253 and a .513 winning percentage. That also marked the year van Breda Kolff's son Jan entered the NBA, with the [[New York Nets]]; he coached one game against his son's team.

While in New Orleans, van Breda Kolff also coached the [[New Orleans Pride]] in the [[Women's Professional Basketball League]] (WBL) from 1979 to 1981.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Porter |first1=Karra |title=Mad seasons : the story of the first Women's Professional Basketball League, 1978-1981 |date=2006 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |location=Lincoln |isbn=0803287895 |page=40 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2pVr1zQmF64C&q=Breda+Kolff |access-date=May 28, 2022}}</ref>

In 1996, van Breda Kolff coached the [[Tampa Bay Windjammers]] for the first six games of the 1996 [[United States Basketball League]] (USBL) season.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Page |first1=Rodney |title=Six games enough for USBL coach |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/326798868/?terms=USBL%20coach&match=1 |access-date=November 11, 2020 |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=May 22, 1996 |page=55}}</ref>

===Coaching style===

Van Breda Kolff often clashed with other strong egos. After leaving the Jazz, he remained in New Orleans and returned to the college coaching ranks with the University of New Orleans, where he spent two years. He worked as a tugboat salesman in 1982. In 1985, Lafayette, the team he had coached 30 years earlier, asked him to return.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/04/03/Lafayette-College-Tuesday-hired-veteran-basketball-coach-Butch-Van/8557449816400/ | title=Lafayette College Tuesday hired veteran basketball coach Butch Van... - UPI Archives }}</ref> Van Breda Kolff stayed four seasons at Lafayette before leaving to coach Hofstra once again. His second stint with the Flying Dutchmen lasted five seasons and ended after the 1993–94 season, which saw Hofstra win just nine games but also saw them go on a winning streak in the East Coast Conference tournament all the way to the final, which they won in what was Van Breda Kolff's final game as a head coach. In 28 years as a college coach, he compiled a 482–272 record. 

He waa inducted into the Hofstra Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://gohofstra.com/honors/hofstra-athletics-hall-of-fame/willem-butch-van-breda-kolff/89 | title=Willem "Butch" van Breda Kolff (2008) - Hofstra Athletics Hall of Fame }}</ref>

===Death and legacy===

Van Breda Kolff died August 22, 2007, at a nursing home in [[Spokane, Washington]], after a long illness.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=2988175|title=Ex-Lakers, Princeton coach van Breda Kolff dies|date=August 23, 2007|website=ESPN.com}}</ref>

"All I know is life isn't much different than that game on the court", he said in an article in the ''[[New York Daily News]]'' in the early 1980s. "If it's run right — with precision, with good, honest effort — it's a thing of beauty. I know what it looks like and that's what keeps me going."

His son [[Jan van Breda Kolff]] was also a basketball player and coach.

==BAA/NBA career statistics==
{| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 90%; white-space: nowrap;"
|-
! colspan="6" style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid #aaa;"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| &nbsp;&nbsp;GP
| Games played
| style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| &nbsp;FG%&nbsp;
| style="padding-right: 8px" | [[Field goal (basketball)|Field-goal]] percentage
|-
| style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| &nbsp;FT%&nbsp;
| [[Free throw|Free-throw]] percentage
| style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| &nbsp;APG&nbsp;
| [[Assist (basketball)|Assists]] per game
|-
| style="background:#f2f2f2; border:1px solid black;"| &nbsp;PPG&nbsp;
| Points per game
| style="background-color: #F2F2F2; border: 1px solid black" | &nbsp;'''Bold'''&nbsp;
| Career high
|-
|}

===Regular season===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Year
! Team
! GP
! FG%
! FT%
! APG
! PPG
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1946–47 BAA season|1946–47]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1946–47 New York Knicks season|New York]]
| 16 || .206 || .647 || .4 || 1.6
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1947–48 BAA season|1947–48]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1947–48 New York Knicks season|New York]]
| 44 || .276 || .617 || .7 || 4.1
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1948–49 BAA season|1948–49]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1948–49 New York Knicks season|New York]]
| '''59''' || .317 || .671 || '''2.4''' || '''7.0'''
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|1949}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1949–50 New York Knicks season|New York]]
| 56 || '''.329''' || '''.716''' || 1.4 || 3.7
|-
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 175 || .305 || .669 || 1.5 || 4.7
|-
|}

===Playoffs===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Year
! Team
! GP
! FG%
! FT%
! APG
! PPG
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1946–47 BAA season|1947]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1946–47 New York Knicks season|New York]]
| 5 || .219 || .538 || .8 || 4.2
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1947–48 BAA season|1948]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1947–48 New York Knicks season|New York]]
| 3 || '''.375''' || .714 || .7 || 7.3
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1948–49 BAA season|1949]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1948–49 New York Knicks season|New York]]
| '''6''' || '''.375''' || '''.826''' || '''1.2''' || '''8.2'''
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|1949|end}}
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1949–50 New York Knicks season|New York]]
| 1 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0
|-
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 15 || .318 || .720 || .9 || 6.1
|-
|}

==Head coaching record==

===College basketball===
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Lafayette Leopards men's basketball|Lafayette Leopards]]
 | conference = [[Middle Three Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1951
 | endyear    = 1955
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1951–52 NCAA men's basketball season|1951–52]]
 | name         = Lafayette
 | overall      = 15–9
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1952–53 NCAA men's basketball season|1952–53]]
 | name         = Lafayette
 | overall      = 13–12
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1953–54 NCAA men's basketball season|1953–54]]
 | name         = Lafayette
 | overall      = 17–10
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry 
 | season       = [[1954–55 NCAA men's basketball season|1954–55]]
 | name         = Lafayette
 | overall      = 23–3
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = [[1955 National Invitation Tournament|NIT First Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Hofstra Pride men's basketball|Hofstra Flying Dutchmen]]
 | conference = [[Middle Atlantic Conferences|Middle Atlantic Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1955
 | endyear    = 1962
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1955–56
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 22–4
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = [[1959 NCAA College Division basketball tournament|NCAA College Division Regional Runner-up]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1956–57
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 11–15
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1957–58
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 15–8
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1958–59
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 20–7
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1959–60
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 23–1
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1960–61
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 21–4
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = 1961–62
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 24–4
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = [[1962 NCAA College Division basketball tournament|NCAA College Division Regional Runner-up]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Princeton Tigers men's basketball|Princeton Tigers]]
 | conference = [[Ivy League]]
 | startyear  = 1962
 | endyear    = 1967
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1962–63 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1962–63]]
 | name         = [[1962–63 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team|Princeton]]
 | overall      = 19–6
 | conference   = 11–3
 | confstanding = T–1st
 | postseason   = [[1963 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|NCAA University Division First Round]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1963–64 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1963–64]]
 | name         = [[1963–64 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team|Princeton]]
 | overall      = 20–9
 | conference   = 12–2
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = [[1964 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|NCAA University Division Regional Fourth Place]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1964–65 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1964–65]]
 | name         = [[1964–65 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team|Princeton]]
 | overall      = 23–6
 | conference   = 13–1
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = [[1965 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|NCAA University Division Third Place]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1965–66 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1965–66]]
 | name         = Princeton
 | overall      = 16–7
 | conference   = 9–5
 | confstanding = 4th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1966–67 NCAA University Division men's basketball season|1966–67]]
 | name         = [[1966–67 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team|Princeton]]
 | overall      = 25–3
 | conference   = 13–1
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = [[1967 NCAA University Division basketball tournament|NCAA University Division Regional Third Place]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Princeton
 | overall    = 103–31
 | confrecord = 58–12
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[New Orleans Privateers men's basketball|New Orleans Privateers]]
 | conference = [[Sun Belt Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1977
 | endyear    = 1979
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference tournament
 | season       = [[1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1977–78]]
 | name         = New Orleans
 | overall      = 21–6
 | conference   = 8–2
 | confstanding = 2nd
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1978–79]]
 | name         = [[1978–79 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|New Orleans]]
 | overall      = 11–16
 | conference   = 3–7
 | confstanding = 5th
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = New Orleans
 | overall    = 32–22
 | confrecord = 11–9
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Lafayette Leopards men's basketball|Lafayette Leopards]]
 | conference = [[East Coast Conference (Division I)|East Coast Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1984
 | endyear    = 1988
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1984–85 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1984–85]]
 | name         = Lafayette
 | overall      = 15–13
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1985–86]]
 | name         = Lafayette
 | overall      = 14–15
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1986–87]]
 | name         = Lafayette
 | overall      = 16–13
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1987–88]]
 | name         = Lafayette
 | overall      = 19–10
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Lafayette
 | overall    = 132–85
 | confrecord = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name       = [[Hofstra Pride men's basketball|Hofstra Flying Dutchmen]]
 | conference = [[East Coast Conference (Division I)|East Coast Conference]]
 | startyear  = 1988
 | endyear    = 1994
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1988–89 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1988–89]]
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 14–15
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1989–90 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1989–90]]
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 13–15
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1990–91 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1990–91]]
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 14–14
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1991–92 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1991–92]]
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 20–9
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | season       = [[1992–93 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1992–93]]
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 9–18
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference tournament
 | season       = [[1993–94 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1993–94]]
 | name         = Hofstra
 | overall      = 9–20
 | conference   = 
 | confstanding = 
 | postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
 | name       = Hofstra
 | overall    = 215–134
 | confrecord = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
 | overall = 482–272
}}

===NBA/ABA===
{{NBA coach statistics legend}}
{{NBA coach statistics start}}
|-
| align="left"|[[1967–68 Los Angeles Lakers season|Los Angeles]]
| align="left"|{{nbay|1967}}
| 82 || 52 || 30 || {{Winning percentage|52|30}} || align="center"|2nd in Western|| 15 || 10 || 5 || {{Winning percentage|10|5}}
| align="center"|Lost in [[1968 NBA Finals|NBA Finals]]
|-
| align="left"|[[1968–69 Los Angeles Lakers season|Los Angeles]]
| align="left"|{{nbay|1968}}
| 82 || 55 || 27 || {{Winning percentage|55|27}} || align="center"|1st in Western|| 18 || 11 || 7 || {{Winning percentage|11|7}}
| align="center"|Lost in [[1969 NBA Finals|NBA Finals]]
|-
| align="left"|[[1969–70 Detroit Pistons season|Detroit]]
| align="left"|{{nbay|1969}}
| 82 || 31 || 51 || {{Winning percentage|31|51}} || align="center"|7th in Eastern || – || – || – || {{Winning percentage|0|0}}
| align="center"|Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left"|[[1970–71 Detroit Pistons season|Detroit]]
| align="left"|{{nbay|1970}}
| 82 || 45 || 37 || {{Winning percentage|45|37}} || align="center"|4th in Midwest || – || – || – || {{Winning percentage|0|0}}
| align="center"|Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left"|[[1971–72 Detroit Pistons season|Detroit]]
| align="left"|{{nbay|1971}}
| 10 || 6 || 4 || {{Winning percentage|6|4}} || align="center"|(resigned) || – || – || – || {{Winning percentage|0|0}}
| align="center"|–
|-
| align="left"|[[1972–73 Phoenix Suns season|Phoenix]]
| align="left"|{{nbay|1972}}
| 7 || 3 || 4 || {{Winning percentage|3|4}} || align="center"|(fired) || – || – || – || {{Winning percentage|0|0}}
| align="center"|–
|- 
| align="left"|[[1973–74 Memphis Tams season|Memphis]] (ABA)
| align="left"|[[1973–74 ABA season|1973–74]]
| 84 || 21 || 63 || {{Winning percentage|21|63}} || align="center"|4th in Eastern || – || – || – || {{Winning percentage|0|0}}
| align="center"|Missed Playoffs 
|-
| align="left"|[[1974–75 New Orleans Jazz season|New Orleans]]
| align="left"|{{nbay|1974}}
| 66 || 22 || 44 || {{Winning percentage|22|44}} || align="center"|5th in Central || – || – || – || {{Winning percentage|0|0}}
| align="center"|Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left"|[[1975–76 New Orleans Jazz season|New Orleans]]
| align="left"|{{nbay|1975}}
| 82 || 38 || 44 || {{Winning percentage|38|44}} || align="center"|4th in Central || – || – || – || {{Winning percentage|0|0}}
| align="center"|Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left"|[[1976–77 New Orleans Jazz season|New Orleans]]
| align="left"|{{nbay|1976}}
| 26 || 14 || 12 || {{Winning percentage|14|12}} || align="center"|(fired) || – || – || – || {{Winning percentage|0|0}}
| align="center"|–
|- class="sortbottom"
| align="left"|'''Career'''
| || 603 || 287 || 316 || {{Winning percentage|287|316}} || || 33 || 21 || 12 || {{Winning percentage|21|12}} ||
{{s-end}}

==See also==
* [[List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Navboxes|list=
{{Lafayette Leopards men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Lafayette Leopards men's soccer coach navbox}}
{{Lafayette Leopards men's lacrosse coach navbox}}
{{Hofstra Pride men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Princeton Tigers men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Los Angeles Lakers coach navbox}}
{{Detroit Pistons coach navbox}}
{{Phoenix Suns coach navbox}}
{{Utah Jazz coach navbox}}
{{New Orleans Privateers men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Henry Iba Award}}
{{NABC Coach of the Year}}
{{Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Breda Kolff, Butch}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:American men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:American people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from New Jersey]]
[[Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States]]
[[Category:Detroit Pistons head coaches]]
[[Category:The Hill School alumni]]
[[Category:Hofstra Pride men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Lafayette College faculty]]
[[Category:Lafayette Leopards men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Lafayette Leopards men's lacrosse coaches]]
[[Category:Lafayette Leopards men's soccer coaches]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Lakers head coaches]]
[[Category:Memphis Sounds coaches]]
[[Category:New Orleans Jazz head coaches]]
[[Category:New Orleans Privateers men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:New York Knicks players]]
[[Category:NYU Violets men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Glen Ridge, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Montclair, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Phoenix Suns head coaches]]
[[Category:Princeton Tigers men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Princeton Tigers men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Princeton Tigers men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Shooting guards]]
[[Category:Small forwards]]
[[Category:United States Basketball League coaches]]
[[Category:Wilkes-Barre Barons players]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:American men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Women's Professional Basketball League coaches]]
[[Category:All-American college men's soccer players]]