06/01/26 07:17:00
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06/01 19:15 CDT Hall of Famer Rick Adelman, who won more than 1,000 games and
took 2 teams to NBA Finals, dies at 79
Hall of Famer Rick Adelman, who won more than 1,000 games and took 2 teams to
NBA Finals, dies at 79
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
Rick Adelman, a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee who played for seven NBA
seasons before becoming one of the game's all-time winningest coaches, has
died, the National Basketball Coaches Association announced Monday.
Adelman, the father of Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman, was 79. The cause of
his death was not immediately announced.
Rick Adelman won 1,042 games as an NBA coach, 10th-most in league history. Only
four other coaches --- Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich, Jerry Sloan and George Karl
--- coached more games and had a better winning percentage than Adelman, who
took the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA Finals twice and also was head coach
in Sacramento, Houston, Minnesota and Golden State.
"Adelman will be remembered not only as a coach and a player, but also as a
mentor to so many in the basketball community," read a statement from the
coaches' association, which honored Adelman with its Chuck Daly Lifetime
Achievement Award in 2023.
"Rick Adelman's NBA coaching career has been highlighted by innovation,
integrity and excellence," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said when the NBCA
presented that award three years ago. "His teams always played to their
strengths, and Rick always found subtle ways to reinvent NBA basketball to help
his players thrive. His quiet, unassuming nature belies his impact as one of
the great NBA coaches of all time."
Adelman also played in the NBA from 1969 through 1975 as a point guard for five
different teams --- but found his calling as a coach.
The Kings, in paying tribute, said Adelman "will be remembered for the way he
inspired those around him --- with humility, integrity, kindness, and an
unwavering belief in the power of teamwork."
Adelman's path to the NBA, as a coach, was unintentional.
He thought he would become a high school coach, though his lack of experience
was a deterrent. He then started his coaching career at Chemeketa Community
College in Salem, Oregon.
"We had great success there," Adelman said in his Hall of Fame enshrinement
speech. "The one thing I did not realize is Jack Ramsey was following my team."
Ramsey was coaching the Portland Trail Blazers, and invited Adelman to
interview when a position opened on his staff. Adelman worked under Ramsey for
three seasons and Mike Schuler for 2 1/2 more, then took over as interim coach
with 35 games left in the 1988-89 season.
"We had a team that was ready to win," Adelman said in 2021.
Blazers owner Paul Allen told Adelman he could coach the 1989-90 season. The
rest is history. Portland won 59 games that season with Clyde Drexler, Terry
Porter, Jerome Kersey and Buck Williams leading the way, getting to the NBA
Finals and falling to Detroit.
Adelman was off and running. He took the Blazers back to the NBA Finals two
years later, falling then to Chicago. After his Portland era, Adelman coached
two years at Golden State and then went to Sacramento --- where he had eight
winning seasons in an eight-year stint, with players like Vlade Divac, Peja
Stojakovic, Mike Bibby, Chris Webber, Jason Williams, Bobby Jackson and current
Kings coach Doug Christie.
Adelman had 210 players appear in at least one NBA game for him.
"He actually challenged me and poured into trusting me," 20-year guard Kyle
Lowry said Monday night. "That was important for me. He didn't have to. He
could have done everything else, he could have played other players, but he
believed in me. ... He just trusted his players. He just wanted to win. And if
it wasn't for him, I don't know what career I would have. It's a sad day."
___
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