Byron Scott was named head coach of the New Orleans Hornets on May 28, 2004, where he served till November of 2009. As the seventh coach in their franchise history, Scott used the experience of two trips to the NBA Finals as head coach of the New Jersey Nets and three NBA titles as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers to help the Hornets become a championship-caliber team.

In the 2007–08 season, Scott led his team to a record of 56–26, with a winning percentage of .683. They became Southwest Division champions and finished 2nd overall in the Western Conference. The Hornets clinched the Southwest Division title in their win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Hornets had a 30–11 home record and a 26–15 road record and clinched the second seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.

The Hornets won their first round series against the Dallas Mavericks, posting a 4–1 record for the series. They would go on to face the defending Champion San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals. An unusual trend of home court blow outs would mark the series until the deciding game 7 when the veteran Spurs would pull out a gutsy 91–82 win on the Hornets rowdy home court.

Byron Scott was named the head coach of the 2008 Western Conference All-Star team, and a few months after, he was awarded the 2007–2008 NBA coach of the year award.

Scott came to the Hornets after three-and-a-half seasons in New Jersey, during which time he compiled a 149-139 (.517) record and took the Nets from the bottom of the Eastern Conference (only three teams were worse the season before he arrived) to one of the NBA’s elite teams.

He posted a 26-56 mark in his first year with the Nets (2000-01), but that record was not a sign of the times to come. Scott guided the Nets to a 52-30 record and a trip to the NBA Finals in the 2001-02 season, just his second as a head coach at any level. The 52 wins were a Nets franchise record and represented the sixth-best turnaround (26 games) in NBA history.

The team enjoyed several other franchise firsts, including an Atlantic Division title, the best record in the Eastern Conference and hitting the 50-win mark. The Nets’ team success translated into individual honors for Scott, as he was named head coach of the Eastern Conference All-Star Team during the 2002 All-Star Game in Philadelphia. As good as the Nets were in the regular season, their march through the playoffs was even more impressive. Scott led the team to victories over the Pacers, Hornets and Celtics before they fell to the L.A. Lakers in the Finals.

Under Scott’s leadership, the Nets returned to the Finals in 2002-03. The team finished the regular season at 49-33 (second-best record in the Eastern Conference) and captured its second consecutive Atlantic Division crown before they once again rolled through the playoffs. The Nets defeated the Bucks in six games in the first round, then swept the Celtics and Pistons in the Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals, respectively, to set up their meeting with the Spurs in the Finals. After losing the first two games, Scott led the Nets back with two consecutive wins to tie the series before they eventually lost in six games.

Prior to joining the Nets, Scott spent two seasons (1998-99 and 1999-00) as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings. During his two years in Sacramento, the team posted their first back-to-back winning seasons (27-23 and 44-38) in 20 years. Scott’s responsibilities with the Kings included reviewing offensive game plans, advance scouting and individual skill work with perimeter players.

The native of Inglewood, Calif., has an equally impressive record off the court. His non-profit organization, The Byron

Scott Children’s Fund, has raised more than $3 million over the past decade, with the proceeds going to various children’s charities. Scott continues to broaden his résumé after serving as a studio analyst for ABC’s NBA telecasts, he now makes appearances as an Expert Commentator for ESPN.

Scott and his wife, Anita, have three children, Thomas, LonDen and DaRon.