Iavaroni was a star player at Plainview, New York's John F. Kennedy High School in the 1970s and a teammate of Seth Greenberg.

[1] He later played for the San Antonio Spurs, where he averaged career-highs of 6.7 points and 4.8 rebounds in 1985, and the Utah Jazz.

Following his playing career, he was also an assistant coach for two seasons at Bowling Green State University from 1992 to 1994.

The first NBA coaching experience for Iavaroni came in 1997, when he was hired as a Cleveland Cavaliers assistant, working mainly with forwards.

[5] On July 17, 2010, the Los Angeles Clippers announced that Iavaroni would become an assistant coach to newly hired Vinny Del Negro.