STANFORD, Calif. – Welcomed to the Stanford staff after a highly successful collegiate and international basketball career, Amir Bell has joined the Cardinal men's basketball program as special assistant to the head coach.
“We are so grateful to have Amir Bell join our staff,” said Kyle Smith, the Anne and Tony Joseph Director of Men’s Basketball. “Amir and I go back to my days at Columbia when I had an unsuccessful attempt to recruit him, which later resulted in having to compete against him at Princeton. He has always impressed me as a player, competitor, leader, and, more importantly, as a person of high character.”
Bell played seven professional seasons after graduating from Princeton in 2018, seeing the court in Italy, Malaysia, Germany, Poland and Cyprus. His successful career resulted in numerous accolades, including a 2020 Asia-Basket.com All-ASEAN League second team selection, 2024 Polish League Defensive Player of the Year honors and 2025 Eurobasket.com Cypriot OPAP Basketball first team accolades. Bell was also the 2025 Finals MVP in Cyprus for league champion AEK Larnaca.
A standout guard for the Tigers from 2014-18, Bell was the 2018 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. He currently sits 35th on the Princeton career scoring list with 1,043 career points and seventh in career assists with 313. Bell helped lead Princeton to the 2017 Ivy League Championship.
“Amir played for Mitch Henderson in one of the most tradition rich programs in college basketball,” continued Smith. “I was fortunate enough to work with two former Princeton players in Joe Scott and Chris Mooney, who have shaped many of my basketball philosophies. They gave me a great understanding of how high academics can achieve at the highest levels: the Smart take from the strong.”
Bell is reunited on the Stanford coaching staff with Brett MacConnell, who was an assistant coach at Princeton while Bell was a student-athlete.
“Amir brings his unique experiences to develop and advise our current student-athletes,” added Smith. “Being a recently retired professional player adds another dimension to our staff that is needed. He will assist in all facets of the program in his role as special assistant.”
Outside of his playing career, Bell was the founder and trainer of BrunswickGrassroots, an organization designed for elite basketball training for players of all levels.