Patrick Zipfel

Patrick Zipfel (born October 15, 1967) is an American basketball coach and former college athletics director. He is currently the advance scout for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Prior to joining the Sixers in 2023, the Philadelphia native was a member of the Phoenix Suns coaching staff, led by Monty Williams, that earned the Western Conference Championship title and NBA Finals run in 2021. Throughout his career, Zipfel has worked as assistant coach/advance scout for the Chicago Bulls(NBA), Minnesota Timberwolves, and Phoenix Suns, while also serving as an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets.

In October 2015, Zipfel accepted the head coach position at Mansfield University, located in Mansfield, Pennsylvania to help restore the program before returning to the NBA in 2018. ^[1]

Early years

Zipfel earned a bachelor's degree from Cabrini College in English/communications in 1989.^[2]

Coaching career

Zipfel was an assistant men's basketball coach at NCAA Division I The Citadel from 1989 to 1992. He was awarded his first head coaching job at Bucks County Community College in 1993. In 1994, Zipfel moved on to Centenary College of New Jersey, where he served as their director of athletics and head men's basketball coach.^[3][4]

He worked for the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers as an advance scout, responsible for scouting the Clippers' upcoming opponents and preparing game plans for coaches and players.^[5]

Zipfel spent the 2003–04 season as head coach of the New Jersey Squires of the American Basketball Association, leading the Squires into the quarterfinals, where they were defeated by the Kansas City Knights.^[6]

From 2004 to 2007, he was an advance scout for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.^[2]

From 2007 to 2011, Zipfel was an assistant coach and advance scout for the NBA's Houston Rockets.^[2][7]

Houston General Manager Daryl Morey said Zipfel was a "secret weapon" in the Rockets' first-round playoff series victory in 2009, their first playoff series win in more than a decade. "We felt like we were a little tick ahead because we had Pat Zipfel on the bench," said Morey.^[8]

Zipfel spent the summer of 2011 serving as the advance scout for the Ukraine National Team under head coach Mike Fratello.^[2]

On December 6, 2011, he was hired by the Minnesota Timberwolves as an assistant coach and advance scout.^[1]

In Summer of 2012 Zipfel served as the Dominican Republic national basketball team advance scout under head coach John Calipari for this country's Olympic entrant for Men's Basketball. The team won a gold medal in Centro Basket, and lost in the pre-Olympic Qualifying tournament.

Zipfel has been called "one of the sharpest strategic minds in the NBA."^[5] ESPN.com says Zipfel's NBA peers rate him "one of the league's best" advanced scouts.^[9]

He currently serves on the NBA Coaches Association technology committee.