Reece Gaines

Clifton Reece Gaines (born January 7, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player and former assistant coach at Austin Spurs.

Reece Gaines

Gaines in 2005
Personal information
Born	(1981-01-07) January 7, 1981 (age 44) Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	205 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school	Madison West (Madison, Wisconsin)
College	Louisville (1999–2003)
NBA draft	2003: 1st round, 15th overall pick
Drafted by	Orlando Magic
Playing career	2003–2012
Position	Shooting guard / point guard
Number	22, 4, 34
Coaching career	2012–present
Career history
As a player:
2003–2004	Orlando Magic
2004–2005	Houston Rockets
2005–2006	Milwaukee Bucks
2006–2007	Angelico Biella
2007	Armani Jeans Milano
2007–2008	Benetton Treviso
2008–2009	Angelico Biella
2009–2010	Bakersfield Jam
2010	Peristeri
2010	Texas Legends
2010–2011	JA Vichy
2012	Fürstenfeld Panthers
2012	Guaros de Lara
As a coach:
2012–2015	Bellarmine (assistant)
2015–2019	Eastern Kentucky (assistant)
2019–2021	Austin Spurs (assistant)
Career highlights
As Player: Third-team All-American – AP, NABC, SN (2003) 2× First-team All-Conference USA (2002, 2003)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

High school and college career

Gaines, a 6-foot-6-inch (1.98 m), 205-pound (93 kg) shooting guard, played high school basketball at Madison West in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. He then played four years at the University of Louisville, earning AP All-America 3rd-team honors his senior season while leading the Cardinals to a 25–7 win–loss record. He is considered one of the best all-time shooting guards for the Louisville Cardinal basketball program. He ranks among the top-five Louisville leaders in made three-point field goals (225), free throws (456) and assists (475).^[1][2] Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat once called Reece Gaines "the best college basketball player he ever faced".^[3][4]

NBA career

Gaines was drafted by the Orlando Magic in the first round (15th overall) of the 2003 NBA draft and signed with the club on July 18, 2003. He spent one season on the bench in Orlando (1.8 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in 38 games) before being traded to the Houston Rockets (along with Tracy McGrady, Juwan Howard and Tyronn Lue) in exchange for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato.^[5]

Gaines played ten games with the Rockets (2.6 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game), spending the majority of his time on the injured list. He was traded again on February 24, 2005 (with two future second-round picks) to the Milwaukee Bucks for Mike James and Zendon Hamilton.^[6] Gaines saw even less playing time with the Bucks during the second half of the 2004–05 season, playing a total of 79 minutes (1.4 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game) in 11 games. Gaines's playing time decreased even more with the Bucks in the 2005–06 season, appearing in 12 games, and playing 52 total minutes (1.1 points, no rebounds and 0.3 assists per game).

Gaines's final NBA game was played on February 12, 2006, in a 79–94 loss to the New Jersey Nets in which he recorded 2 assists and a steal.

NBA career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2003–04	Orlando	38	1	9.6	.291	.300	.640	1.0	1.1	0.3	0.1	1.8
2004–05	Houston	10	0	10.8	.370	.250	.750	1.1	0.3	0.3	0.0	2.6
2004–05	Milwaukee	11	0	7.2	.304	.500	.000	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.1	1.4
2005–06	Milwaukee	12	0	4.5	.500	.000	.250	0.0	0.3	0.1	0.0	1.1
Career		71	1	8.5	.324	.269	.606	0.7	0.7	0.2	0.0	1.7

International career

In 2006, he moved to Italy where he played for Angelico Biella, Armani Jeans Milano and Benetton Treviso. In 2009, he joined the Bakersfield Jam, with whom he averaged 14.3 points and 4.0 assists per game. In December 2010 he signed with JA Vichy in France.^[7] In January 2012 Gaines signed a 30-day contract with the Fürstenfeld Panthers in Austria.^[8] On February 2, 2012, the Panthers announced that the contract with Gaines would not be extended.^[9]

Coaching career

In 2012, Gaines was hired as an assistant coach at Bellarmine University, where he coached for three seasons.^[10] While at Bellarmine, he helped the Knights to three straight NCAA Division II tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 and a Final Four trip.

In 2015, Gaines became an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky University.^[11] In 2018, Gaines was named acting coach after head coach Dan McHale's contract was terminated.^[12]

On November 5, 2019, the Austin Spurs announced that they had named Gaines as assistant coach.^[13]