R. C. BUFORD

Assistant Coach, 1984-88           Father of Chase Buford

R.C. Buford is the general manager of the San Antonio Spurs NBA basketball team. He was given the title by his predecessor, Gregg Popovich, in 2002 after five seasons as team president.

Prior to joining the Spurs in 1988 Buford spent five seasons at the University of Kansas and was a member of the coaching staff when the Jayhawks won the 1988 NCAA Championship.

Buford first joined the Spurs in the summer of 1988 as an Assistant Coach on Larry Brown's staff. He spent four seasons as an assistant with the Spurs, including the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons when the team captured back-to-back Midwest Division Titles. In the summer of 1992 he became the number one assistant for Brown with the Los Angeles Clippers. He spent one season with the Clippers before moving to the University of Florida for the 1993-94 season.

Popovich then hired Buford as the Spurs Head Scout in the summer of 1994 and he has been with the team since that time. In the summer of 1997 he was named the Spurs Director of Scouting and then two years later was promoted to the position of Vice President/Assistant General Manager.

Buford has won three NBA championships as general manager of the Spurs (2003, 2005 and 2007).

His son, Chase Buford, plays basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks.

HoopsHype

Spurs' GM has ties to Kansas, 6/4/2003

R.C Buford Named Spurs General Manager, 2002

The Spurs' Secret Weapon, 6/7/2007

Now fast forward a quarter century and realize when R.C. Buford moved into the role of Spurs General Manager in July of 2002 it was an easy transition.  After spending more than a decade on the sidelines as an assistant coach  in both the NCAA and the NBA, Buford had served as a key member of the Spurs front office since 1994.  

Buford began his coaching career at the University of Kansas in 1983.  During his five seasons at Kansas, the Jayhawks advanced to the NCAA Tournament each year, reaching the 1986 NCAA Final Four and winning the 1988 NCAA Championship.

In the summer of 1988, Buford moved to the NBA, joining the Spurs as an Assistant Coach as part of Larry Brown's staff.  He spent four seasons as an assistant with the Spurs, including 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons when the Spurs captured back-to-back Midwest Division titles.  He remained with the Spurs through the 1991-92 campaign.

He then joined Larry Brown as first assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers.  During their tenure, the Clippers enjoyed their best seasons in Los Angeles, posting back-to-back winning seasons and playoff appearances.

Buford served as an Assistant Coach with the University of Florida during the 1993-94 season.  The Gators enjoyed the greatest year in school history, culminating in Florida's first NCCA Final Four appearance.        

Buford returned to San Antonio in the summer of 1994 when he was named the Spurs Head Scout.  In the summer of 1997 he became the team's Director of Scouting.  He then received another promotion in the summer of 1999, being named the Spurs Vice President/Assistant General Manager.

Buford played at Texas A & M University and Oklahoma State before receiving his degree from Friends University.