John Kundla

John Kundla
Kundla in 2014
Personal information
Born(1916-07-03)July 3, 1916
Star Junction, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJuly 23, 2017(2017-07-23) (aged 101)
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolCentral (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
CollegeMinnesota (1936–1939)
Coaching career1946–1968
Career history
As coach:
1946–1947St. Thomas
1947–1959Minneapolis Lakers
1959–1968Minnesota
Career highlights and awards
Career coaching record
BAA & NBA423–302 (.583)
College121–116 (.511)
Basketball Hall of Fame as coach
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006

John Albert Kundla (July 3, 1916 – July 23, 2017) was an American college and professional basketball coach. He was the first head coach for the Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its predecessors, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL), serving 12 seasons, from 1947 to 1959. His teams won six league championships, one in the NBL, one in the BAA, and four in the NBA. Kundla was the head basketball coach at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul for one season in 1946–47, and at the University of Minnesota for ten seasons, from 1959 to 1968. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.