View source for Chris Jent

{{Short description|American basketball player and coach}}
{{About|the American basketball player and coach|the British businessman|Chris Gent}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Chris Jent
| image = Chris Jent in 2013.jpg
| width = 200px
| caption = Jent in 2013
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 7
| weight_lb = 220
| league = [[NBA]]
| team = [[Charlotte Hornets]]
| position = Assistant coach
| nationality =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|01|11}}
| birth_place = [[Orange, California]], U.S.
| high_school  = [[Sparta High School (New Jersey)|Sparta]] ([[Sparta, New Jersey]])
| college = [[Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball|Ohio State]] (1988–1992)
| draft_year = 1992
| career_start = 1992
| career_end = 2001
| coach_start = 2003
| coach_end = 
| career_number = 21, 7
| career_position = [[Shooting guard]] / [[small forward]]
| years1 = 1992–1993
| team1 = [[Rapid City Thrillers]]
| years2 = 1993
| team2 = [[Joventut Badalona]]
| years3 = 1993–1994
| team3 = [[Columbus Horizon]]
| years4 = {{nbay|1993|end}}
| team4 = [[Houston Rockets]] 
| years5 = 1994–1995
| team5 = Rapid City Thrillers
| years6 = 1995
| team6 = [[North Melbourne Giants]]
| years7 = 1995
| team7 = [[Connecticut Pride]]
| years8 = 1995–1996
| team8 = [[S.S. Basket Napoli|Napoli]]
| years9 = {{nbay|1996|end}}
| team9 = [[New York Knicks]] 
| years10 = 1997
| team10 = Napoli
| years11 = 1997
| team11 = Atlantic City Seagulls
| years12 = 1997–1998
| team12 = [[Pallacanestro Reggiana|Reggiana]]
| years13 = 1998–1999
| team13 = [[Andrea Costa Imola]]
| years14 = 1999–2000
| team14 = [[Panionios B.C.|Panionios]]
| years15 = 2000–2001
| team15 = Reggiana
| years16 = 2001–2002
| team16 = [[Pallacanestro Pavia|Pavia]]
| cyears1 = {{nbay|2003|full=yes}}
| cteam1 = [[Philadelphia 76ers]] (assistant)
| cyears2 = {{nbay|2004|full=yes}}
| cteam2 = [[Orlando Magic]] (assistant)
| cyears3 = 2005
| cteam3 = Orlando Magic (interim)
| cyears4 = {{nbay|2006|start}}–{{nbay|2010|end}}
| cteam4 = [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] (assistant)
| cyears5 = 2011–2013
| cteam5 = [[Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball|Ohio State]] (assistant)
| cyears6 = {{nbay|2013|start}}–{{nbay|2014|start}}
| cteam6 = [[Sacramento Kings]] (assistant)
| cyears7 = 2015–2016
| cteam7 = [[Bakersfield Jam]]
| cyears8 = 2016–2017
| cteam8 = Ohio State (assistant)
| cyears9 = {{nbay|2017|start}}–{{nbay|2021|end}}
| cteam9 = [[Atlanta Hawks]] (assistant)
| cyears10 = {{nbay|2022|start}}–{{nbay|2023|end}}
| cteam10 = [[Los Angeles Lakers]] (assistant)
| cyears11 = 2024–present
| cteam11 = [[Charlotte Hornets]] (assistant)
| highlights = 
'''As player:'''
* [[List of NBA champions|NBA champion]] ([[1994 NBA Finals|1994]])
* [[All-NBL Team|All-NBL Third Team]] (1995)
* [[Continental Basketball Association|CBA]] All-Rookie First Team (1993)
* 2× Fourth-team [[Parade All-America Boys Basketball Team|''Parade'' All-American]] (1987, 1988)
'''As assistant coach:'''
* [[List of NBA In-Season Tournament champions|NBA Cup champion]] ([[2023 NBA In-Season Tournament championship game|2023]])
* [[Big Ten Conference|Big Ten Conference Tournament]] champion (2013)
|stats_league=  NBA
| stat1label = [[Point (basketball)|Points]]
| stat1value = 37 (6.2 ppg)
| stat2label = [[Rebound (basketball)|Rebounds]]
| stat2value = 16 (2.7 rpg)
| stat3label = [[Assist (basketball)|Assists]]
| stat3value = 8 (1.3 apg)
| bbr = jentch01
| medal_templates = 
{{MedalSport | Men's [[basketball]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{USA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[FIBA Americas Championship]]}}
{{MedalGold| [[1993 Tournament of the Americas|1993 San Juan]] | [[1993 Tournament of the Americas|Team competition]]}}
}}
'''Christopher Matthew Jent''' (born January 11, 1970) is an American [[basketball]] coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the [[Charlotte Hornets]] of the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA).  He was formerly the head coach of the [[Bakersfield Jam]] of the [[NBA Development League]], and had a stint as an assistant coach at the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] as well.

==Early life and college career==
Jent was born in [[Orange, California]] and grew up in [[Sparta Township, New Jersey|Sparta, New Jersey]].<ref name=bbr>{{cite web|title=Chris Jent|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jentch01.html|website=[[Basketball Reference]]|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=January 15, 2024}}</ref><ref>[http://www.nba.com/coachfile/chris_jent/index.html Chris Jent] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304003828/http://www.nba.com/coachfile/chris_jent/index.html |date=2011-03-04 }}, [[National Basketball Association]]. Accessed June 28, 2011.</ref> After attending high school at [[Sparta High School (New Jersey)]], he played college basketball for the [[Ohio State Buckeyes]], leaving in 1992 after four seasons.

==Professional playing career==
Undrafted in the [[1992 NBA draft]], Jent was drafted in the fourth round (50th overall) in the 1992 [[Continental Basketball Association|CBA]] draft.<ref name="ACB">{{Cite web |url=http://www.acb.com/jugador.php?id=ASF |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-01-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326074605/http://www.acb.com/jugador.php?id=ASF |archive-date=2015-03-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Jent began his professional career with [[Continental Basketball Association|CBA]] teams [[Rapid City Thrillers]] and [[Columbus Horizon]].<ref name="NBA player profile">{{cite web|title=Chris Jent player profile|url=http://www.nba.com/playerfile/profile/chris_jent_cp.html|publisher=NBA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990910024220/http://www.nba.com/playerfile/profile/chris_jent_cp.html|archive-date=September 10, 1999}}</ref> He was selected to the CBA All-Rookie First Team in 1993.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chris Jent minor league basketball statistics |url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbasketball/stats/p-jentchr001 |website=Stats Crew |access-date=February 27, 2025}}</ref>

He had a brief career in the [[NBA]], playing three games each for the [[Houston Rockets]] (winning a championship ring in 1994) and [[New York Knicks]] (1996–97).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/jentch01.html|title=Chris Jent Stats}}</ref> He played in 11 playoff games in 1994, thus giving him the rare distinction of having played in more career playoff-games than regular-season games in the NBA. In between his stints with the Rockets and the Knicks, he played with the [[Australia]]n [[National Basketball League (Australia)|NBL]]'s [[North Melbourne Giants]] in 1995 and also played in [[Serie A (basketball)|Italy]], [[Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto|Spain]] and [[A1 Ethniki|Greece]].

==Coaching career==

=== Philadelphia 76ers (2003–2004) ===
Jent was an assistant coach for the [[Philadelphia 76ers]] in the 2003–04 season.

=== Orlando Magic (2004–2005) ===
The next season, Jent worked in the same capacity with the [[Orlando Magic]], and was appointed interim head coach for the final 18 games of the [[2004–05 NBA season|2004–05 season]] (going 5–13), after [[Johnny Davis (basketball, born 1955)|Johnny Davis]] was fired. At the start of the next season he was replaced by [[Brian Hill (basketball coach)|Brian Hill]].

=== Cleveland Cavaliers (2006–2011) ===
Beginning in November 2006, Jent took on the role of Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development with the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]]. He served as [[LeBron James]]' personal shooting coach while James was on the team.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090130033358/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/chris_ballard/01/27/lebron.james/ SI.com article], accessed February 27, 2009.</ref>

=== Ohio State (2011–2013) ===
On June 29, 2011, [[Ohio State University|Ohio State]] head basketball coach [[Thad Matta]] introduced Jent as an assistant coach for the [[Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball|Buckeyes]].

=== Sacramento Kings (2013–2014) ===
On June 10, 2013, Jent became an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings.<ref>[http://www.nba.com/kings/news/kings-add-chris-jent-coaching-staff KINGS ADD CHRIS JENT TO COACHING STAFF]</ref> He was relieved of his duty on December 16, 2014.<ref>[http://www.sportando.com/en/usa/nba/145020/chris-jent-leaves-kings-coaching-staff.html Chris Jent leaves Kings' coaching staff]</ref>

=== Bakersfield Jam (2015–2016) ===
Jent would later on be the newest head coach for the [[Bakersfield Jam]] in 2015 after their former head coach ended up accepting an assistant coach/leading player development position for the [[Phoenix Suns]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Suns Sign Teletovic, Weems, Price|url=http://www.nba.com/suns/press-release/chris-jent-named-bakersfield-jam-head-coach|accessdate=September 3, 2015|work=NBA.com|date=August 27, 2015}}</ref>

=== Return to Ohio State (2016–2017) ===
Jent returned to Ohio State as an assistant following the 2015–16 season.<ref>{{cite news|title=What Chris Jent hopes to bring to Ohio State basketball as a new/old assistant coach|url=http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2016/04/what_chris_jent_hopes_to_bring.html|accessdate=April 27, 2016|work=Cleveland.com|date=April 27, 2016}}</ref>

=== Atlanta Hawks (2017–2022) ===
For the 2017–18 season, Jent was hired as an assistant coach with the [[Atlanta Hawks]].<ref>{{citation |title=Atlanta Hawks Name Chris Jent As Assistant Coach|url=http://www.nba.com/hawks/atlanta-hawks-name-chris-jent-assistant-coach|accessdate=July 22, 2017|work=[[Atlanta Hawks]]|date=July 7, 2017}}</ref>

=== Los Angeles Lakers (2022–2024) ===
For the 2022–23 season, Jent was hired as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lakers Announce 2022-23 Coaching Staff |url=https://www.nba.com/lakers/news/lakers-announce-2022-23-coaching-staff |website=NBA.com |date=September 27, 2022 }}</ref>

=== Charlotte Hornets (2024–present) ===
Chris Jent was hired as an assistant coach on Charles Lee's staff for the Charlotte Hornets in the 2024 offeason.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://swarmandsting.com/posts/hornets-hire-lakers-assistant-chris-jent-to-charles-lee-s-staff-01hyxb5naes8 | title=Hornets hire Lakers assistant Chris Jent to Charles Lee's staff | date=May 27, 2024 }}</ref>

==Career statistics==
{{NBA player statistics legend}}

===NBA===
Source<ref name=bbr/>

====Regular season====
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"|{{nbay|1993}}†
|align="left" | [[1993–94 Houston Rockets season|Houston]]
| '''3''' || 0 || '''26.0''' || '''.500''' || .364 || '''.500''' || '''5.0''' || '''2.3''' || .0 || .0 || '''10.3'''
|-
| align="left" | {{nbay|1996}}
| align="left" | [[1996–97 New York Knicks season|New York]]
| '''3''' || 0 || 3.3 || .333 || '''.667''' || &ndash; || .3 || .3 || .0 || .0 || 2.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Career
| style="text-align:left;"|
| 6 || 0 || 14.7 || .469 || .429 || .500 || 2.7 || 1.3 || .0 || .0 || 6.2
{{s-end}}

====Playoffs====
{{NBA player statistics start}}
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"|[[1994 NBA playoffs|1994]]†
|align="left" | [[1993–94 Houston Rockets season|Houston]]
| 11 || 0 || 5.6 || .250 || .231 || &ndash; || .8 || .6 || .2 || .0 || 1.2
{{s-end}}

==Head coaching record==
{{NBA coach statistics legend}}
{{NBA coach statistics start}}
|- 
| style="text-align:left;"|[[2004–05 Orlando Magic season|Orlando]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|2004}}
|18||5||13||{{Winning percentage|5|13}}|| style="text-align:center;"|3rd in Southeast||—||—||—||—
| style="text-align:center;"|Missed Playoffs
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:left;"|'''Career'''
| ||18||5||13||{{Winning percentage|5|13}}|| ||—||—||—||—
{{s-end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Charlotte Hornets current roster}}
{{navboxes|list=
{{Orlando Magic coach navbox}}
{{United States squad 1993 FIBA Americas Championship}}
{{Houston Rockets 1993-94 NBA champions}}
{{Los Angeles Lakers 2023 NBA Cup champions}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jent, Chris}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:21st-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Australia]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Greece]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Italy]]
[[Category:American expatriate basketball people in Spain]]
[[Category:American men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Andrea Costa Imola players]]
[[Category:Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches]]
[[Category:Atlantic City Seagulls players]]
[[Category:Bakersfield Jam coaches]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from California]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Sussex County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Orange County, California]]
[[Category:Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches]]
[[Category:Columbus Horizon players]]
[[Category:Connecticut Pride players]]
[[Category:Greek Basket League players]]
[[Category:Houston Rockets players]]
[[Category:Joventut Badalona players]]
[[Category:Liga ACB players]]
[[Category:New York Knicks players]]
[[Category:North Melbourne Giants players]]
[[Category:Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Orlando Magic assistant coaches]]
[[Category:Orlando Magic head coaches]]
[[Category:Pallacanestro Reggiana players]]
[[Category:Panionios B.C. players]]
[[Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Sparta, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Philadelphia 76ers assistant coaches]]
[[Category:Rapid City Thrillers players]]
[[Category:Sacramento Kings assistant coaches]]
[[Category:Shooting guards]]
[[Category:Sparta High School (New Jersey) alumni]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Orange, California]]
[[Category:Undrafted NBA players]]
[[Category:United States men's national basketball team players]]