Royal Ivey
Royal Terence Ivey (born December 20, 1981) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is also the head coach of the South Sudanese national basketball team. He played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns before spending 10 years in the NBA. Early life and college. Ivey was born in Harlem in the Manhattan borough of New York City and started on the basketball team of Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, leading the team to its first PSAL championship. He attended  Blair Academy for a post-graduate year. Ivey played college basketball at the University of Texas at Austin, in which he finished as the school's all-time career leader in games started (126). Professional career. Ivey was selected with the 37th overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks. On September 18, 2007, Ivey signed a one-year contract with the Bucks. On July 24, 2008, Ivey agreed to terms with the Philadelphia 76ers. On June 15, 2009, Philadelphia announced that Ivey declined the player option on his contract for the 2009–10 season, making him an  unrestricted free agent. However, he re-signed with the 76ers in August 2009. On February 18, 2010, Ivey was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks along with Primoz Brezec in exchange for Jodie Meeks and Francisco Elson. On July 21, 2010, Ivey signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He reached the NBA Finals with the Thunder in 2012, but the team lost to the Miami Heat. On July 27, 2012, Ivey returned to the 76ers. On September 30, 2013, he signed with the Atlanta Hawks. However, he was waived on October 25. On January 16, 2014, he signed a 10-day  contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder. On January 26, 2014, his 10-day contract expired and the Thunder chose not to offer him a second 10-day contract. On January 29, 2014, he signed with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of China for rest of the 2013–14 season. Coaching career. On September 29, 2014, Ivey was named an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA Development League for the 2014–15 season, effectively ending his 10-year playing career. On July 1, 2016, Ivey was elevated from a player development assistant with the Blue to an assistant coach with  the Oklahoma City Thunder. On June 7, 2018, Ivey joined the New York Knicks as an assistant coach to David Fizdale. Ivey remained with the Knicks after Fizdale's firing and served under interim head coach Mike Miller. On November 11, 2020, the Brooklyn Nets hired Ivey as an assistant coach under Steve Nash. On May 3, 2021, Ivey signed as head coach of the national team of . He coached the team at AfroBasket 2021, the country's first major tournament. Ivey and South Sudan reached the quarterfinals where the team was eliminated by defending champions Tunisia. Personal life. During  the 2011 NBA lockout, Ivey returned to the University of Texas to finish his degree in applied learning and development.