There were a lot of coaches in Big3 who performed as players in the most popular national basketball league in the world. Julius Erving, Clyde Drexler, Rick Barry, and many other persons are examples of previous sentences. However, only one figure was a coach in NBA and now leads the team in Ice Cube’s and Jeff Quatinet’z project.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are talking about Reggie Theus. Many successful seasons in the most famous national basketball competition are behind him and now he is leading successfully Big3 team. Let’s find out what Reggie’s road to glory looked like.
How did Reggie start his career in basketball?
Reggie represented the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels team from 1976 to 1978. Theus ended a three-year period in that club averaging 12.9 points, 4.4 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game.
In his sophomore year, Reggie Theus contributed a lot to UNLV reaching the school’s first Final Four. Losing in the semifinal game by one point was not seen as a failure as his team won in the game for third place against UNC-Charlotte. The hero of today’s story recorded 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists shooting 81.8 percent from the free-throw line as a sophomore.
What was his first NBA team?
Theus caught the attention of NBA scouts with impressive performances during his college career, so this point guard signed a deal with Chicago before the 1978/1979 season. The first two seasons were very good for Reggie in the Bulls since he scored 16.3 and 20.2 points per game, respectively.
The best performance in his career came in the 1982/1983 campaign where the former college star went to score 23.8 points per game. Despite an amazing display of Reggie Theus, Chicago Bulls ended the season with a 28-54 score.
Throughout his tenure with Chicago, Reggie had five coaches: Jerry Sloan, Phil Johnson, Rod Thorn, Paul Westhead, and Kevin Loughery. The appointment of new coach Kevin Loughery sent this shooting guard to the bench in the first half of the campaign 1983/1984. Consequentially, the player put a signature with Kansas City at the beginning of 1984 in exchange for Steve Johnson and three picks from the second round of the Draft.
How was his time in Kansas?
Kansas City had a good winning streak after Reggie Theus became the new reinforcement making 12 victories out of the first 17 games in which he was involved.
Good collaboration with coach Phil Jackson resulted in another great player’s performance during the 1984/1985 season. Reggie averaged 16.4 points and 8 assists per fixture in 30 games in Kansas jersey. During 1984/1985 team Kansas City changed its location and moved to Sacramento.

Where did Reggie play next?
Following three seasons spent in Sacramento, Reggie moved to Atlanta before the tipoff of 1988/1989. During four seasons in Kings, Theus averaged 18.8 points and grabbed 8.1 assists which was a remarkable result.
Theus went on to score 15.8 points and make 4.7 assists contributing to Atlanta’s reaching the playoff. Playing together with legends like Doc Rivers, Dominique Wilkins, and Moses Malone was a massive and massive experience for a hero of today’s story.
Subsequently, the hero of our day put a signature on the contract with Orlando as he signed a deal on June 15, 1989. The former college star averaged 18.9 points and 5.4 assists per game during a short stint with a team from Florida. Bad Magic’s season, this point guard was followed by Reggie’s decision to play for New Jersey. Eventually, it turned out to be his last NBA team averaging 18.6 points.
Afterward, he represented Italian Varese for one campaign. Finally, Greek Aris was his last station in his playing road.
What happened after playing career with Theus?
In 2005, Reggie Theus took charge of New Mexico State Angels believing he could help them to clinch trophies.
Former Atlanta’s shooting guard was hired as Sacramento’s coach in 2007, but was soon fired. Later, he was an assistant coach of Minnesota from 2009 to 2011.
After not having so much success there, Theus became head coach of California State University Northridge in 2013 with whom the Big West Conference Final was reached.
How do fans remember Reggie Theus?
Reggie has the nickname “Rush Street Reggie” because he possessed an apartment in that street. He was hanging out with friends often in that area. Also, Theus is the only guy besides Magic Johnson who is taller than 1.96 m and who has made more than 750 assists in one single NBA season.
What did Reggie decide to do after coaching career in NBA?
After leaving NBA, Reggie heard about very interesting Ice Cube’s and Jeff Quatinetz’s project – Big3.
Consequentially, it was not a hard decision for Theus to take charge of one of the Fireball’s teams – Bivouac. Right before the start of the 2019 campaign, an NBA veteran became their head coach hoping he could lead them to a big trophy one day.
The team was already represented by Josh Smith, Anthony Morrow, and Will Bynum. Josh was appointed as captain, while Anthony got the role of co-captain in the roster. Will, a point guard, had the experience of playing in the most popular national league on the planet for eight years.
Bivouac picked Shawne Williams, C. J Leslie, and Dion Glover from the 2019 Draft pool, so spectators had big expectations from the squad.
C. J Leslie had significant experience representing G League’s and overseas teams. Shawne Williams, ex-NBA small forward, performed for six teams in NBA. Dion Glover, former Trilogy’s shooting guard, completed the list of Bivouac’s reinforcements. Unfortunately, the roster ended the competition with a score of 2-4 at 10th place.
How did Reggie’s team react to disappointment from Big3’s third edition?
After the disappointment experienced in the 2019 Season, Theus and his players knew they need to react on the transfer market to improve the quality of their game.
Consequentially, Alonzo Gee and Julian Wright were brought from the 2021 Draft Pool. Marreese Speights, center or power forward, was a player with a reputation for big NBA experience. He joined the roster in 2020 and very soon became co-captain of the squad.
Despite all these reinforcements, this roster lost all of their six games in the regular part of the competition.
How successful was Reggie in the 2022 season?
Reggie Theus and Gary Payton switched places, so the hero of our story became the head coach of Three Headed Monsters before the start of the 2022 season.
At that moment, Rashard Lewis was co-captain. His teammates were Reggie Evans, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, and Kevin Murphy. Additionally, this team picked Abdoulaye N’Doye at the second round of the 2022 Draft Pool. Logically, the ambitions of their spectators were high, and the atmosphere around the squad was good.
Three Headed Monsters ended the regular part of the season with a superb 6-2 score and qualified for the play-off. This was followed by Reggie’s team’s defeat in the semis against Power with 51-49.
Reggie is the only coach who coached the NBA and Big3 teams in the history of those competitions. His charisma and character are something that also separates him from other guys in that branch. His personality was visible on the court when he was a player, also. Theus is a figure that finds fun in basketball and promotes a dimension of entertainment in his team’s performances.
Even though Reggie Theus was not even close to winning the title with Bivouac in Fireball, his fans are full of admiration for him. Coaching Three Headed Monsters is a new chance for experienced coach.
Add Comment