Tomjanovich was born to a Croatian family. He went to high school in Hamtramck and then to the University of Michigan from 1967 to 1970.
Tomjanovich was selected in the 1970 NBA Draft as the second pick by the San Diego Rockets (after 1971 the franchise relocated to Houston), for whom he would play the entirety of his NBA playing career.
Tomjanovich, though an excellent player, is perhaps best known for an unfortunate incident not of his own making. In a game on December 9, 1977, the Los Angeles Lakers' Kermit Washington threw a brutal punch which broke Tomjanovich's jaw and face and inflicted life-threatening head injuries, leaving him sidelined for five months. He eventually made a full recovery. In his eleven years in the NBA, Tomjanovich had a scoring average of 17.4 points and a rebounding average of 8.1.
The Rockets retired Tomjanovich's #45 jersey upon the conclusion of his playing career. (His collegiate jersey, also #45, was retired by the University of Michigan in 2003).
He would later become the Rockets' head coach, leading them to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. Tomjanovich left the team after the 2002-03 season as he was recovering from bladder cancer.
In 2004, Tomjanovich took over as the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, replacing Phil Jackson. After just 41 games, he resigned due to health issues unrelated to his past bout with bladder cancer. Tomjanovich stayed with the Lakers as a consultant.
On February 15, 2006, Tomjanovich was named director of scouting for USA Men's Basketball.
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