Quinn Buckner
Encyclopedia
William Quinn Buckner, commonly known as Quinn Buckner (born August 20, 1954 in Phoenix, Illinois
) is a former American professional basketball
player and coach. He played collegiately at Indiana University
, and was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
with the 7th pick of the 1976 NBA Draft
. He had a ten-year NBA career for three different teams (the Bucks, the Boston Celtics
, and the Indiana Pacers
). Throughout his career he was a solid defensive player, and made the 2nd team All-Defense four times. In 1984
, he won an NBA title with the Celtics.
In addition to his playing career, Buckner was the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks
for one year, from 1993 to 1994
. Currently, Buckner is a color analyst for the Indiana Pacers cable television broadcast team. Quinn also was the play-by-play announcer on 989 Sports line of college basketball games for several years. Quinn Buckner is 1 of 3 players to win a basketball championship at all levels (High School, College, Olympics, and Professional). The other 2 players are Jerry Lucas and Magic Johnson.
He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
fraternity.
and Jerry Lucas
are the others.) In Buckner’s 10-year NBA career he was a tough defender, a solid playmaker, and a stabilizing force in any lineup. At various stages he filled the role of team leader and trusty reserve.
Born in 1954 in Phoenix, Illinois
, Buckner played basketball at Thornridge High School
in Dolton, Illinois
. His Falcons lost only one game during his junior and senior seasons and won back-to-back state titles. The 1972 team was undefeated, with no team coming within 14 points of them. Buckner was also an excellent football player, making all-state in high school. He is the only person ever named Chicago area Player of the Year for both football and basketball. He played basketball and football collegiately at Indiana University
(football only 1 year) and seemed to get along with volatile Coach Bob Knight better than any other player in the Hoosiers' history. “The one thing that I learned early was to respect authority figures, right or wrong,” Buckner told the Dallas Morning News concerning his relationship with Knight. Buckner was a four-year starter and three-year captain at Indiana. As a senior in 1976 he co-captained the club to a 32-0 record and the NCAA Championship.
He played for the United States men's national basketball team in the 1974 FIBA World Championship
, winning the bronze medal.
in the first round of the 1976 NBA Draft
, the seventh pick overall. He was also selected by the Washington Redskins
in the 1976 NFL Draft
. (Buckner had played free safety on the Hoosiers’ football team for two years.)
Before he joined the Bucks, Buckner played on the gold medal–winning 1976 U.S. Olympic basketball team alongside Adrian Dantley
, Mitch Kupchak
, and Scott May
. But nothing could have prepared him for the NBA experience. Buckner’s teams had suffered only 25 defeats in his eight years of high school and college basketball, and he had never been on a team that lost more than seven games in a season. But Milwaukee lost 52 times in 1976–77, finishing last in the Midwest Division.
Individually, Buckner proved to be a competent NBA player. He was unspectacular offensively, averaging 8.6 points while shooting .434 from the field, but he excelled on defense, ranking fourth in the league with 2.43 steals per game.
The next year Buckner raised his scoring slightly, to 9.3 points per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. After a similar season in 1978–79, Buckner had his three best years. In 1979–80 he averaged 10.7 points and 5.7 assists, made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for the second time, and helped the Bucks to the Midwest Division title. Under Coach Don Nelson
, Milwaukee had assembled a solid lineup that included forward Marques Johnson
, behemoth center Bob Lanier
, and guards Brian Winters
, Sidney Moncrief
, and Junior Bridgeman
.
The 1980–81 campaign saw Buckner play in all 82 games and notch career highs in scoring (13.3 ppg), field-goal percentage (.493), free-throw percentage (.734), and steals (197, third in the league). He repeated on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. The Bucks were outstanding, finishing 60-22 with a balanced offense that saw seven players average in double figures. Milwaukee had high hopes for the postseason, but Julius Erving
’s Philadelphia 76ers
derailed the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Buckner had established a reputation as a solid, dependable player with impeccable fundamentals. He was never going to be a flashy player or a big scorer; in fact, his low-trajectory shot was jokingly said to have been responsible for more bent rims than Darryl Dawkins
’s dunks.
“My strength is defense,” he said in the Boston Globe. “Another is my overall knowledge of the game and being able to get everybody involved in the game. I’ve never had an illusion that shooting is one of my strengths. In fact, it was a very known weakness that I had.…You play with a lot of pride and work hard every night out.”
Milwaukee was trying to add a few essential parts that would turn the team into a championship contender, and the bottleneck at guard made Buckner expendable. Before the 1982–83 season he was traded to the Boston Celtics for center Dave Cowens
. When Boston signed Buckner, Red Auerbach
told the Boston Globe, “He’s a winner, a leader. He rises to the occasion. He has a good personality, he’s team oriented, and he’s disciplined.” Buckner, who couldn’t have said it better himself added, “I’ve always admired the Boston style of play, and I feel I can play it.”
Milwaukee never did win the title. Boston, however, won a championship in 1984, with Buckner coming off the bench to spell Dennis Johnson
and Gerald Henderson
. The Celtics went 62-20 during the regular season and then nudged the Los Angeles Lakers
in a seven-game NBA Finals. With the NBA championship ring, Buckner completed an impressive résumé.
In three seasons with Boston, Buckner made small but regular contributions for a powerful Celtics team. The club returned to the Finals in 1985, but the Lakers exacted their revenge, winning in six games. Following the season, Boston traded Buckner to the Indiana Pacers
. He opened the 1985–86 season with the Pacers but was waived after 32 games, ending his 10-year career.
and NBC
. He also called college and NBA basketball for CBS Sports
.
With the Pacers, Buckner is the color commentator for television broadcasts, participates in community relations efforts and contribues to Pacers TipOffhttps://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/home.htmI?team=pacers3&l=EN&STAGE=1, a game preview newsletter distributed via e-mail for every home Pacers game.
In an interview with the Arizona Republic, Buckner repeated his success formula: “Dedication, commitment, extreme concentration, discipline, realizing it can’t be done alone, it has to be done through the team.” Believing that his young charges needed more discipline, Buckner determined from the start to be a stern taskmaster with the Mavs. The plan backfired, with many of the players (including Jamal Mashburn
) complaining publicly about Buckner's methods. NBA historian Peter Bjarkman even suggested that Buckner frequently consulted with his former coach Bob Knight during the season. They started 1–23, and for a while it looked like they would break the 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers
' record for the most losses in a season. Buckner loosened the reins a little bit as the season wore on, but it was not enough to keep the team from finishing 13–69—by far the worst record in the league, and at the time the worst record ever for a rookie coach who managed to survive for a full season. Buckner was fired two days after the season ended.
In July 2004, Buckner was named the Vice President of Communications for Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E), which owns and operates the Pacers, the WNBA's Indiana Fever and Pacers Foundation, Inc. PS&E is also responsible for managing Conseco Fieldhouse, which is owned by the Capitol Improvement Board.
Phoenix, Illinois
Phoenix is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,157 at the 2000 census. It is located approximately 19 miles south of the Chicago Loop and is part of the Chicago–Naperville–Joliet, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Phoenix is located at...
) is a former American professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player and coach. He played collegiately at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, and was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
with the 7th pick of the 1976 NBA Draft
1976 NBA Draft
The 1976 NBA Draft was the 30th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on June 8, 1976 before the 1976–77 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...
. He had a ten-year NBA career for three different teams (the Bucks, the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
, and the Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
). Throughout his career he was a solid defensive player, and made the 2nd team All-Defense four times. In 1984
1983-84 NBA season
-Statistics leaders:-Yearly awards:*Most Valuable Player: Larry Bird, Boston Celtics*Rookie of the Year: Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets*Defensive Player of the Year: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks...
, he won an NBA title with the Celtics.
In addition to his playing career, Buckner was the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
for one year, from 1993 to 1994
1993-94 NBA season
-Statistics leaders:-NBA awards:*Most Valuable Player: Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets*Rookie of the Year: Chris Webber, Golden State Warriors*Defensive Player of the Year: Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets...
. Currently, Buckner is a color analyst for the Indiana Pacers cable television broadcast team. Quinn also was the play-by-play announcer on 989 Sports line of college basketball games for several years. Quinn Buckner is 1 of 3 players to win a basketball championship at all levels (High School, College, Olympics, and Professional). The other 2 players are Jerry Lucas and Magic Johnson.
He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
fraternity.
Early life and career
Although he had a modest professional career, Quinn Buckner’s basketball life is a study in success. He is one of only three players in history to have won titles at every level: high school, college, the NBA, and the Olympics. (Magic JohnsonMagic Johnson
Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers...
and Jerry Lucas
Jerry Lucas
Jerry Ray Lucas was a basketball player from the 1950s to the 1970s, and is now a memory education expert. In 1996, the NBA's 50th anniversary, he was named one of the 50 greatest players in National Basketball Association history...
are the others.) In Buckner’s 10-year NBA career he was a tough defender, a solid playmaker, and a stabilizing force in any lineup. At various stages he filled the role of team leader and trusty reserve.
Born in 1954 in Phoenix, Illinois
Phoenix, Illinois
Phoenix is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,157 at the 2000 census. It is located approximately 19 miles south of the Chicago Loop and is part of the Chicago–Naperville–Joliet, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Phoenix is located at...
, Buckner played basketball at Thornridge High School
Thornridge High School
Thornridge High School is a public high school located in Dolton, Illinois. It was built as part of Thornton Township High Schools District 205. It is sometimes confused with the similar sounding schools in the same district: Thornton Township High School and Thornwood High...
in Dolton, Illinois
Dolton, Illinois
Dolton is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 25,614 at the 2000 census. Dolton is located just west of the expressway Interstate 94 and immediately south of the city limits of Chicago. Its most common ZIP code is 60419....
. His Falcons lost only one game during his junior and senior seasons and won back-to-back state titles. The 1972 team was undefeated, with no team coming within 14 points of them. Buckner was also an excellent football player, making all-state in high school. He is the only person ever named Chicago area Player of the Year for both football and basketball. He played basketball and football collegiately at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
(football only 1 year) and seemed to get along with volatile Coach Bob Knight better than any other player in the Hoosiers' history. “The one thing that I learned early was to respect authority figures, right or wrong,” Buckner told the Dallas Morning News concerning his relationship with Knight. Buckner was a four-year starter and three-year captain at Indiana. As a senior in 1976 he co-captained the club to a 32-0 record and the NCAA Championship.
He played for the United States men's national basketball team in the 1974 FIBA World Championship
1974 FIBA World Championship
The 1974 FIBA World Championship was an international basketball competition hosted by Puerto Rico from July 3 to 14, 1974.-Venues:- Competing nations :- Preliminary round :-Group A:-Group B:-Group C:-Classification round:-Final round:...
, winning the bronze medal.
NBA career
Although he scored only 10.0 points per game during his college career, Buckner was selected by the Milwaukee BucksMilwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
in the first round of the 1976 NBA Draft
1976 NBA Draft
The 1976 NBA Draft was the 30th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on June 8, 1976 before the 1976–77 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...
, the seventh pick overall. He was also selected by the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
in the 1976 NFL Draft
1976 NFL Draft
The 1976 National Football League Draft was an annual player selection meeting held on April 8–April 9, 1976. It lasted 17 rounds, with the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks making the first two selections. The expansion teams were also given a pair of extra picks at the end of...
. (Buckner had played free safety on the Hoosiers’ football team for two years.)
Before he joined the Bucks, Buckner played on the gold medal–winning 1976 U.S. Olympic basketball team alongside Adrian Dantley
Adrian Dantley
Adrian Delano Dantley is a retired American basketball player who played 15 seasons in the NBA, including seven as a member of the Utah Jazz. A forward/guard and six-time NBA All-Star, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008...
, Mitch Kupchak
Mitch Kupchak
Mitchell "Mitch" Kupchak is a retired American basketball player and current general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers since the 2000–01 NBA season after predecessor Jerry West moved to the Memphis Grizzlies organization....
, and Scott May
Scott May
Scott Glenn May is a retired American professional basketball player.May was a power forward on the 1976 Indiana basketball team that went undefeated and won the NCAA championship under coach Bobby Knight. May was named NCAA men's basketball national player of the year in 1976...
. But nothing could have prepared him for the NBA experience. Buckner’s teams had suffered only 25 defeats in his eight years of high school and college basketball, and he had never been on a team that lost more than seven games in a season. But Milwaukee lost 52 times in 1976–77, finishing last in the Midwest Division.
Individually, Buckner proved to be a competent NBA player. He was unspectacular offensively, averaging 8.6 points while shooting .434 from the field, but he excelled on defense, ranking fourth in the league with 2.43 steals per game.
The next year Buckner raised his scoring slightly, to 9.3 points per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. After a similar season in 1978–79, Buckner had his three best years. In 1979–80 he averaged 10.7 points and 5.7 assists, made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for the second time, and helped the Bucks to the Midwest Division title. Under Coach Don Nelson
Don Nelson
Donald Arvid "Don" Nelson is a former NBA player and head coach. He coached the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Golden State Warriors....
, Milwaukee had assembled a solid lineup that included forward Marques Johnson
Marques Johnson
Marques Kevin Johnson is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA, playing for the Milwaukee Bucks , Los Angeles Clippers , and Golden State Warriors ....
, behemoth center Bob Lanier
Bob Lanier (basketball)
Robert Jerry "Bob" Lanier, Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player who played for the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA.Lanier was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992....
, and guards Brian Winters
Brian Winters
Brian Joseph Winters is a former NBA guard/forward, coach and former WNBA head coach. He attended academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, NY, graduating in 1970. He then played collegiately with the University of South Carolina and was the 12th pick in the 1974...
, Sidney Moncrief
Sidney Moncrief
Sidney A. Moncrief is a retired American professional basketball player. As an NCAA college basketball player from 1975–1979, Moncrief led the University of Arkansas Razorbacks trio known as "The Triplets" to the 1978 Final Four, which ended in a win in the NCAA Consolation Game versus #6 Notre Dame...
, and Junior Bridgeman
Junior Bridgeman
Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman is a retired American basketball player.Born in East Chicago, Indiana, Bridgeman was a member of the 1971 East Chicago Washington High School Senators basketball team, which went undefeated and won the Indiana state high school basketball championship...
.
The 1980–81 campaign saw Buckner play in all 82 games and notch career highs in scoring (13.3 ppg), field-goal percentage (.493), free-throw percentage (.734), and steals (197, third in the league). He repeated on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. The Bucks were outstanding, finishing 60-22 with a balanced offense that saw seven players average in double figures. Milwaukee had high hopes for the postseason, but Julius Erving
Julius Erving
Julius Winfield Erving II , commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is a retired American basketball player who helped launch a modern style of play that emphasizes leaping and play above the rim....
’s Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
derailed the Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Buckner had established a reputation as a solid, dependable player with impeccable fundamentals. He was never going to be a flashy player or a big scorer; in fact, his low-trajectory shot was jokingly said to have been responsible for more bent rims than Darryl Dawkins
Darryl Dawkins
Darryl Dawkins is a retired American professional basketball player, most noted for his days with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, although he also played briefly for the Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz late in his career...
’s dunks.
“My strength is defense,” he said in the Boston Globe. “Another is my overall knowledge of the game and being able to get everybody involved in the game. I’ve never had an illusion that shooting is one of my strengths. In fact, it was a very known weakness that I had.…You play with a lot of pride and work hard every night out.”
Milwaukee was trying to add a few essential parts that would turn the team into a championship contender, and the bottleneck at guard made Buckner expendable. Before the 1982–83 season he was traded to the Boston Celtics for center Dave Cowens
Dave Cowens
David William Cowens is a retired American professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At 6'9", he played the center and occasionally the power forward position. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991...
. When Boston signed Buckner, Red Auerbach
Red Auerbach
Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach was an American basketball coach of the Washington Capitols, the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and the Boston Celtics. After he retired from coaching, he served as president and front office executive of the Celtics until his death...
told the Boston Globe, “He’s a winner, a leader. He rises to the occasion. He has a good personality, he’s team oriented, and he’s disciplined.” Buckner, who couldn’t have said it better himself added, “I’ve always admired the Boston style of play, and I feel I can play it.”
Milwaukee never did win the title. Boston, however, won a championship in 1984, with Buckner coming off the bench to spell Dennis Johnson
Dennis Johnson
Dennis Wayne Johnson nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics and coach of the Los Angeles Clippers...
and Gerald Henderson
Gerald Henderson
Jerome McKinley "Gerald" Henderson, Sr. is a retired American basketball player. He was a shooting guard who had a 13-year career in the NBA from 1979 until 1992. He played for the Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons, and...
. The Celtics went 62-20 during the regular season and then nudged the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
in a seven-game NBA Finals. With the NBA championship ring, Buckner completed an impressive résumé.
In three seasons with Boston, Buckner made small but regular contributions for a powerful Celtics team. The club returned to the Finals in 1985, but the Lakers exacted their revenge, winning in six games. Following the season, Boston traded Buckner to the Indiana Pacers
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...
. He opened the 1985–86 season with the Pacers but was waived after 32 games, ending his 10-year career.
Broadcasting career
He later on became a broadcaster for ESPNESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. He also called college and NBA basketball for CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
.
With the Pacers, Buckner is the color commentator for television broadcasts, participates in community relations efforts and contribues to Pacers TipOffhttps://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/home.htmI?team=pacers3&l=EN&STAGE=1, a game preview newsletter distributed via e-mail for every home Pacers game.
Coaching career
He was named head coach of the Dallas Mavericks for 1993–94. The club had gone 11–71 the previous season, and the franchise was in disarray. Although Buckner had no NBA coaching experience, Mavericks owner Donald Carter hoped Buckner’s charismatic personality and lifelong knack for winning would rub off on the young team.In an interview with the Arizona Republic, Buckner repeated his success formula: “Dedication, commitment, extreme concentration, discipline, realizing it can’t be done alone, it has to be done through the team.” Believing that his young charges needed more discipline, Buckner determined from the start to be a stern taskmaster with the Mavs. The plan backfired, with many of the players (including Jamal Mashburn
Jamal Mashburn
Jamal Mashburn is a retired American professional basketball player. A small forward, Mashburn was a prolific scorer in his 12 seasons in the league, with a career scoring average of 19.1 points per game...
) complaining publicly about Buckner's methods. NBA historian Peter Bjarkman even suggested that Buckner frequently consulted with his former coach Bob Knight during the season. They started 1–23, and for a while it looked like they would break the 1972–73 Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
' record for the most losses in a season. Buckner loosened the reins a little bit as the season wore on, but it was not enough to keep the team from finishing 13–69—by far the worst record in the league, and at the time the worst record ever for a rookie coach who managed to survive for a full season. Buckner was fired two days after the season ended.
In July 2004, Buckner was named the Vice President of Communications for Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E), which owns and operates the Pacers, the WNBA's Indiana Fever and Pacers Foundation, Inc. PS&E is also responsible for managing Conseco Fieldhouse, which is owned by the Capitol Improvement Board.