Samuel (Sam) E. Mitchell, Jr. (born September 2 1963 in Columbus, Georgia) is a retired American professional basketball player and current head coach of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association.
A Columbus (Georgia) High School graduate, the 6'6", 210 lb small forward was drafted out of Mercer University with the seventh pick of the third round (54th overall) by the Houston Rockets in the 1985 NBA Draft. Mitchell scored nearly 2000 points at Mercer, becoming the leading scorer in team history. He led the Bears to both the regular-season and postseason Trans-American Atlantic Conference championships in 1985. As a result, the team made the NCAA tournament that year.
Mitchell did not commence play in the NBA after being drafted and until joining 1989 expansion team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, in their inaugural season. Prior to his NBA career, he spent three seasons in the Continental Basketball Association and in the French basketball league team of Montpellier (coached by Pierre Galle) for an additional two seasons. After that, Mitchell spent three seasons with the Wolves until September 8 1992 when he was traded along with point guard Pooh Richardson to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for small forward Chuck Person and point guard Micheal Williams. During his playing days in Minneapolis, he scored a career-high 37 points against the Philadelphia 76ers on February 3 1991. After spending three years with the Pacers, he returned to the Timberwolves for the rest of his career, before retiring in 2002. Mitchell's leadership is considered instrumental in the development of Kevin Garnett. Mitchell currently is second on the Wolves' all-time scoring list.
Mitchell returned to the NBA almost immediately after his retirement as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks for two seasons until 2004. He then briefly became a part of the expansion Charlotte Bobcats as their top assistant coach, until moving on to the Toronto Raptors when he was named as the sixth head coach in Raptors history after incumbent Kevin O'Neill was fired.
Mitchell was named the coach of the month in January 2007 for his effort bringing the Toronto Raptors back to .500 and leading the Atlantic Division. On 30 March, 2007, Mitchell got his 100th win as NBA coach when the Raptors defeated the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center.
Mitchell, who saw his team struggle with rebuilding in his first years as coach, also led the Raptors to their first division title in franchise history as the team won the Atlantic Division in the NBA's Eastern Conference in the 2006-07 NBA season. On 24 April, 2007, he was named 2006–07 NBA Coach of the Year. On 22 May, 2007 after leading the Raptors to their first playoffs appearance since 2002, and after much speculation, Mitchell was signed to a four year contract with the Raptors.
On November 25 2007 Mitchell surpassed Lenny Wilkens for the most wins in team history. Mitchell is married and has four children.
Sam Mitchell (born October 12, 1982) is an Australian rules football player for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League.
