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Bill Bertka
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Bill Bertka
William M. Bertka (born August 8, 1927) is a current basketball consultant/special assistant and a former National Basketball Association (NBA) assistant coach, scout and executive with the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Jazz. A pioneering proponent of film study, advance scouting, player development and basketball analytics, Bertka has spent more than 50 years in the NBA and has been a part of 10 NBA championships with the Lakers, including seven as an assistant coach.
Bertka was born and raised in Akron, Ohio, and credited the local Akron YMCA as the place where he developed a passion for the game of basketball. He played at nearby Buchtel High and won a city championship in 1945.
He went into the U.S. Army out of high school, serving in communications rebuilding efforts for two years in Salzburg, Austria, following the conclusion of World War II. Using the GI Bill to fund his education upon his return from Europe, Bertka attended Kent State University and played for the Division I basketball team from 1949–51.
After graduating, Bertka began a coaching journey that brought him to the West Coast. He coached at the high school level for three years before spending nine years at two different colleges. It was at that time, during a two-year span beginning in 1952, that Bertka played professionally for the Santa Maria Golden Dukes of the National Industrial Basketball League, a precursor to the NBA. In 1954, he took over in his first collegiate head coaching role at Hancock College (Santa Maria, CA), where he would later lead the Bulldogs to a 41-game winning streak and the state community college championship in 1957. Bertka also coached his alma mater of Kent State from 1957–61, where, at the age of 30, he was one of the youngest college head coaches in America.
He left coaching in 1961 to take a job as the director of community recreation for the city of Santa Barbara, where he served for a decade. It was during this time that he and his wife, Solveig, began an endeavor called "Bertka's Views" that became one of the most successful college scouting services in the country. Operating from 1961–1995, many of the nation’s premier college basketball programs utilized Bertka’s Views as their sole scouting service, which also served as a key starting point for a number of scouts and coaches that would eventually make it to the NBA. Additionally during this time, Bertka hosted Sports With Bertka, his own radio show in Santa Barbara that won three Golden Mike Awards in the 1970s.
Bertka began his NBA career in 1968 when the Los Angeles Lakers followed the recommendation of former West Virginia great Rod Hundley and hired him to scout college players for the NBA Draft, making him the first full-time scout in league history. When Head Coach Bill Sharman took over the team in 1971–72, Bertka began working with players in an assistant coaching role while also adding advance scouting duties. In what was revolutionary at the time, he would compile film on upcoming opponents in order to prepare the team. That group would later go on a 33-game winning streak – still a professional sports record – en route to an NBA title, giving Bertka his first ring.
In 1974, Bertka left the Lakers to become the first general manager of the New Orleans Jazz (now the Utah Jazz) and also had an initial ownership stake in the franchise through his company, Invest West Sports. He would later serve as a Jazz assistant coach under Elgin Baylor beginning in the 1977–78 season.
In 1981, Pat Riley became head coach of the Lakers and brought Bertka back as his first assistant. Together, the duo constructed what came to be known as the Lakers “Showtime” era, guiding the team to seven NBA Finals appearances in nine seasons and winning four NBA titles (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988). During this time, Bertka and Riley created their own measure of player performance – the plus-minus system – in what became one of the league’s earliest preludes to modern basketball analytics.
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Bill Bertka
William M. Bertka (born August 8, 1927) is a current basketball consultant/special assistant and a former National Basketball Association (NBA) assistant coach, scout and executive with the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Jazz. A pioneering proponent of film study, advance scouting, player development and basketball analytics, Bertka has spent more than 50 years in the NBA and has been a part of 10 NBA championships with the Lakers, including seven as an assistant coach.
Bertka was born and raised in Akron, Ohio, and credited the local Akron YMCA as the place where he developed a passion for the game of basketball. He played at nearby Buchtel High and won a city championship in 1945.
He went into the U.S. Army out of high school, serving in communications rebuilding efforts for two years in Salzburg, Austria, following the conclusion of World War II. Using the GI Bill to fund his education upon his return from Europe, Bertka attended Kent State University and played for the Division I basketball team from 1949–51.
After graduating, Bertka began a coaching journey that brought him to the West Coast. He coached at the high school level for three years before spending nine years at two different colleges. It was at that time, during a two-year span beginning in 1952, that Bertka played professionally for the Santa Maria Golden Dukes of the National Industrial Basketball League, a precursor to the NBA. In 1954, he took over in his first collegiate head coaching role at Hancock College (Santa Maria, CA), where he would later lead the Bulldogs to a 41-game winning streak and the state community college championship in 1957. Bertka also coached his alma mater of Kent State from 1957–61, where, at the age of 30, he was one of the youngest college head coaches in America.
He left coaching in 1961 to take a job as the director of community recreation for the city of Santa Barbara, where he served for a decade. It was during this time that he and his wife, Solveig, began an endeavor called "Bertka's Views" that became one of the most successful college scouting services in the country. Operating from 1961–1995, many of the nation’s premier college basketball programs utilized Bertka’s Views as their sole scouting service, which also served as a key starting point for a number of scouts and coaches that would eventually make it to the NBA. Additionally during this time, Bertka hosted Sports With Bertka, his own radio show in Santa Barbara that won three Golden Mike Awards in the 1970s.
Bertka began his NBA career in 1968 when the Los Angeles Lakers followed the recommendation of former West Virginia great Rod Hundley and hired him to scout college players for the NBA Draft, making him the first full-time scout in league history. When Head Coach Bill Sharman took over the team in 1971–72, Bertka began working with players in an assistant coaching role while also adding advance scouting duties. In what was revolutionary at the time, he would compile film on upcoming opponents in order to prepare the team. That group would later go on a 33-game winning streak – still a professional sports record – en route to an NBA title, giving Bertka his first ring.
In 1974, Bertka left the Lakers to become the first general manager of the New Orleans Jazz (now the Utah Jazz) and also had an initial ownership stake in the franchise through his company, Invest West Sports. He would later serve as a Jazz assistant coach under Elgin Baylor beginning in the 1977–78 season.
In 1981, Pat Riley became head coach of the Lakers and brought Bertka back as his first assistant. Together, the duo constructed what came to be known as the Lakers “Showtime” era, guiding the team to seven NBA Finals appearances in nine seasons and winning four NBA titles (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988). During this time, Bertka and Riley created their own measure of player performance – the plus-minus system – in what became one of the league’s earliest preludes to modern basketball analytics.
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