The basketball community is in mourning, following the news of former Rockets coach Rick Adelman’s passing on Monday. Adelman was 79 years old.
The cause of death has not been disclosed or announced by Adelman’s family. In total, Adelman coached for five different teams: the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Adelman ranks tenth all-time in wins, with 1,042 victories in 23 years of coaching. Only four coaches have coached longer
than Adelman and posted a better win percentage than Adelman’s 58.2 winning clip. He’s also one of just 11 coaches in league history to nab 1,000 victories and posted eleven 50-win seasons, while making the playoffs in 16 of his 23 seasons as a coach.
On the Rockets front, Adelman was hired in 2007 by Daryl Morey, who was a first-time front office executive, at the time. Adelman coached the Rockets for four seasons and the Rockets never had a losing season under Adelman’s tenure, despite dealing with injuries to both Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming throughout his reign in Houston.
The Rockets earned the fifth seed in each of Adelman’s first two seasons in Houston, going 55-27 in 2007-08 and 53-29 in 2008-09. Adelman’s second season was quite memorable, as Houston won 22 consecutive games, which still ranks as the fourth-longest win streak in NBA history.
That Rockets team also took the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference Semifinals — the only such team that can make that claim among the Lakers’ opponents during their path to the championship. Adelman ranks as the fourth-winningest coach in the history of the Rockets franchise, behind Mike D’Antoni, Kevin McHale and Ime Udoka, boasting a 58.8 percent winning clip.
Adelman also ranks fourth in Rockets victories, with 193, tying McHale. In addition, he ranks third in franchise history in games coached, with 328 games.
Rest in paradise to Adelman.
