Former Philadelphia 76ers Aaron McKie has reached a new high in his post NBA career by becoming the head coach of his alma mater.
The name Aaron McKie should be familiar as he was one of the key contributors to the Philadelphia 76ers historic run to the NBA Finals in the 2000-01 season that was spear-headed by Allen Iverson. That team ultimately fell to a Los Angeles Lakers team led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, but they will be always be remembered as one of the better teams in franchise history. Now, McKie takes over as Temple University’s head basketball.
This is a new level in McKie’s post playing career as he becomes the head coach of the college he once played for. During his playing days with the Temple Owls, McKie averaged 17.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.1 steals in three seasons before entering the NBA.
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After being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers, McKie made a few stops in the NBA before being traded with to the 76ers in the 1997-98 season. McKie spent seven and a half seasons of his 13 year career with the Sixers before retiring after playing his last two seasons with the Lakers.
McKie holds a career average of 7.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 13 seasons. During his time with Philly he averaged 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals. McKie earned Sixth Man of the Year back in the 2001-02 season with the 76ers. He also averaged a career high 12.2 points with the Sixers back in the 2001-02 season.
After his retirement from the NBA after the 2005-06 season, McKie became an assistant with the Sixers from 2008-09 season to the 2012-13 season. After his stint as an assistant with the 76ers ended, he became an assistant with the Owls in 2014 and McKie was promoted to associate head coach in 2018 with the plan in place for him to become Temple’s head coach after this past season.
Now that the Owls’ season is over, McKie was announced as his alma mater’s new head coach. He’s taking over for Fran Dunphy who had coached Temple for the past 13 seasons. Hopefully, the former Philadelphia 76ers player and assistant coach can thrive as a head coach for the college that he once played for.