Rick Adelman, longtime NBA coach and Hall of Famer, dies at 79
Longtime NBA coach and Hall of Famer Rick Adelman died on Monday, the National Basketball Coaches Association announced.
He was 79. Specifics of his death are not yet known.
Adelman spent seven years in the league as a player before jumping into coaching. He got his start with the San Diego Rockets in 1968, and he ended up averaging 7.7 points and 3.5 assists per game over the next seven seasons for several different teams before he retired after the 1974-75 campaign.
Adelman joined the Portland Trail Blazers staff as an assistant in 1983, and he ended up spending the next decade with the organization. After six years as an assistant coach, Adelman was hired for his first head coaching job in the league in 1988. He led the Trail Blazers to a pair of NBA Finals appearances, first in 1990 with Clyde Drexler, when they lost to the Detroit Pistons. They made it back two years later, but ended up falling to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
Longtime NBA coach and Hall of Famer Rick Adelman died on Monday, the National Basketball Coaches Association announced.
He was 79. Specifics of his death are not yet known.
Adelman spent seven years in the league as a player before jumping into coaching. He got his start with the San Diego Rockets in 1968, and he ended up averaging 7.7 points and 3.5 assists per game over the next seven seasons for several different teams before he retired after the 1974-75 campaign.
Adelman joined the Portland Trail Blazers staff as an assistant in 1983, and he ended up spending the next decade with the organization. After six years as an assistant coach, Adelman was hired for his first head coaching job in the league in 1988. He led the Trail Blazers to a pair of NBA Finals appearances, first in 1990 with Clyde Drexler, when they lost to the Detroit Pistons. They made it back two years later, but ended up falling to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls.
