The NBA lost a Hall of Famer on Monday, and one with ties to the Golden State Warriors. According to an announcement from the National Basketball Coaches Association, the legendary Rick Adelman has died at the age of 79.
Adelman was a head coach for a whopping 23 NBA seasons, while also spending six years as an assistant coach. He coached five different franchises and amassed a record of 1,042-749, and sits 10th all-time in the win column. Adelman made the playoffs 16 different times, and finished
with a 79-78 record, which included winning the Western Conference twice while with the Portland Trail Blazers.
The basketball lifer spent two seasons at the helm for the Warriors, coaching them to a 36-46 record in 1995-96, and a 30-52 record in 1996-97, before being fired. While those records aren’t very good, they were better than before he took over, as the Dubs went 26-56 the season before hiring Adelman.
While Adelman was best known for his lengthy coaching career, he also played in the NBA. After starring at Loyola Marymount, where he was a WCC Player of the Year winner, Adelman was drafted in the seventh round of the 1968 draft by the San Diego Rockets. He spent seven years as a point guard in the NBA, and played for five different franchises.
In 2021, Adelman was inducted into the Hall of Fame. In 2023, he was honored by the Coaches Association with the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award.
While Adelman is no longer with us, his legacy lives on in the NBA. His son David — one of six children — is currently the head coach of the Denver Nuggets.
