Darrell Kurt Rambis (born February 25, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former professional basketball player. He currently works as an assistant coach for the New York Knicks. He previously served as a head coach for the Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Rambis was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. His family moved to Cupertino, California in his preschool years; his number is retired at Cupertino High School. He graduated from Santa Clara University, where he played from 1976 to 1980, becoming its second leading rebounder and all-time leading scorer with 1,736 points. During his Santa Clara years he was awarded the WCC Freshman of the Year and Conference Player of the Year as a senior. His jersey #34 was retired on December 29, 2008.
Rambis was drafted by the New York Knicks as the 58th pick in the 1980 NBA Draft, but he was subsequently waived by the Knicks. He played in Greece in the Greek League for the club AEK Athens, under the name Kyriakos Rambidis. Being of Greek descent, he also acquired Greek citizenship. AEK won the Greek Cup in 1981. He was re-signed by the Knicks in 1981 but never played a game for them.
His success as an NBA player started when he was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1981. Rambis spent most of his 14 seasons in the NBA with the Lakers, winning championships in 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988 as part of their Showtime teams. Rambis also played for the Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns, and Sacramento Kings before returning to the Lakers in 1993.
During his playing days, Rambis was a favorite among the Lakers fans because of his status as an overachieving underdog and ultimate team-player. Known for his defensive and rebounding skills, Rambis also was an efficient clean-up man on offense, with his field goal percentage reaching 59.5 percent at the peak of his career. He was remembered in both Santa Clara and Los Angeles for his all-out effort and willingness to do the "dirty work" that many players do not embrace.
Rambis usually wore a thick moustache and thick-rimmed black glasses, prompting Lakers announcer Chick Hearn to nickname him "Superman" (in reference to the character's alter ego, Clark Kent). He finally retired with the Lakers in 1995 after 14 years in the NBA.
Rambis began working as a special assistant coach for the Lakers in 1994, but eventually returned to the active playing roster. He was waived at the beginning of the 1995–96 season, and resumed his role as an assistant. He served as head coach of the Lakers during the 1999 "lockout season" after coach Del Harris was fired. He achieved moderate success, registering a 24-13 record in the regular season before being swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the 1999 Western Conference Semifinals.
When Phil Jackson was hired as head coach, Rambis served as the Lakers' assistant general manager. He later became an assistant coach under Jackson between 2001 and 2004, helping the Lakers reach the 2002 and the 2004 NBA Finals, with Los Angeles winning a title in the former series. He was hired again as an assistant in 2005, along with former player Brian Shaw, helping the Lakers to another pair of finals in 2008 and 2009. The Lakers won in the latter attempt.