PHILADELPHIA (4/20/04) - Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Billy King announced this evening that the Sixers have agreed to terms with Jim O'Brien to serve as the 20th head coach in franchise history. O'Brien is a 1974 graduate of Saint Joseph's and was the Hawks' point guard from 1971 to 1974.

O'Brien, 52, joins the Sixers organization after spending the last seven seasons with the Boston Celtics (1997-2004). After serving as an assistant coach in Boston from 1997-2001, O'Brien was named interim head coach of the Celtics on Jan. 8, 2001, following the departure of Rick Pitino. The Philadelphia native signed a multi-year contract as head coach on April 24, 2001. On Jan. 27, 2004, Boston announced O'Brien's resignation as head coach.

During his four seasons as a head coach, O'Brien led Boston to a 139-119 (.539) record and back-to-back playoff appearances in 2002 and 2003, including a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002 for the first time since the 1987-88 campaign.

In his 30 years of coaching experience, O'Brien, has served as an assistant coach at six different colleges and served as an NBA assistant coach with the New York Knicks (1987-89) in addition to his seven years with the Celtics.

O'Brien earned All-Big 5 honors in his senior year. O'Brien was the Hawks' starting point guard for three years and helped SJU to a 60-26 record and three postseason appearances. A member of both the Big 5 Hall of Fame and the Saint Joseph's Basketball Hall of Fame, he currently ranks ninth on the SJU list for career assists with 373.

O'Brien replaces Chris Ford, who served as an interim head coach for the final 30 games of the 2003-04 regular season guiding the Sixers to a 12-18 record overall. Ford was named interim head coach on Feb. 10, 2004.