Bill Sharman
A champion shooter who became a champion innovator, he won titles in three leagues and changed how teams prepare for games with the morning shootaround.
1926–2013 (age 87)·American basketball player and coach·Birthday: May 25·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Bill Sharman's life in basketball was a masterclass in competitive precision and forward thinking. As a player, he was a pure shooter before the term existed, a four-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics whose backcourt partnership with Bob Cousy was poetry in motion. His obsessive dedication to practice and fitness was considered eccentric in the 1950s. That same mindset revolutionized the sport when he moved to the sidelines. Coaching the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971, he instituted the mandatory morning shootaround—a light practice and film session on the day of a game—which was initially mocked but is now universal. He is the rare figure to have won championships as a head coach in three different professional leagues (ABL, ABA, NBA) and was inducted into the Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach. Sharman didn't just play the game; he studied it, systematized it, and left it permanently changed.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Bill was born in 1926, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bill Was Born
The biggest hits of 1926
#1 Movie
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Bill's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1926Born
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
1931Started school
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1939Became a teenager
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1942Could drive
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1944Could vote
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1947Turned 21
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1956Turned 30
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1966Turned 40
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1976Turned 50
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 60
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 70
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 80
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2013Died at 87
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Key Achievements
- Won four NBA championships as a player with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s.
- Coached the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA championship, a season that included a record 33-game winning streak.
- Is one of only four people inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and a coach.
- Credited with inventing and popularizing the morning shootaround, now a standard practice in basketball.
Did You Know?
He was also a professional baseball player, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization and playing minor league baseball for several years.
He led the NBA in free-throw percentage for a record seven consecutive seasons.
Sharman coached the Utah Stars to an ABA championship in 1971 before moving to the Lakers.
He was the first general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, assembling the team that would become the 'Showtime' Lakers of the 1980s.
“The team that gets the most good shots wins.”
