John Castellani
Minneapolis Lakers Head Coach | 1958 NCAA Runner-Up Coach | NBA Coach
John Castellani was born on August 23, 1926, in New Britain, Connecticut. He played college basketball at Notre Dame before beginning his coaching career.
Castellani became the head coach at Seattle University and led the Chieftains to the 1958 NCAA championship game behind star player Elgin Baylor. He later reunited with Baylor when he became the head coach of the Minneapolis Lakers for the 1959-1960 NBA season.
Castellani coached 36 games with the Lakers and finished with an 11-25 record before resigning during the season. His time with Minneapolis became his only head coaching stint in the NBA.
Coach Castellani passed away on May 11, 2021, at the age of 94.
- Overall Coaching Record: 11-25
Coaching Career
John Castellani became the head coach of the Minneapolis Lakers for the 1959-1960 season after previously coaching Elgin Baylor at Seattle University.
The Lakers went 11-25 under Castellani before he resigned on January 2, 1960. Jim Pollard took over the team and went 14-25 over the remainder of the season.
Minneapolis finished with a 25-50 record and placed third in the Western Division. The Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons in the Division Semifinals before losing to the St. Louis Hawks in 7 games in the Western Division Finals.
The season became the final year the franchise played in Minneapolis before moving to Los Angeles.
Notable Players Coached
- Elgin Baylor
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
- 11× NBA All-Star
- 10× All-NBA First Team
- Hot Rod Hundley
- 2× NBA All-Star (1960, 1961)