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 said Monday.
Adelman, the father of Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman, was 79. The cause of 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."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Adelman "a brilliant strategist and teacher of the game, and an even better person" in a statement honoring the coach.
Rick Adelman, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, won 1,042 games as an NBA coach, 10th most in league history. Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images 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 played in the NBA from 1969 through 1975 as a point guard for five different teams. His path there 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 Ramsay was following my team."
Ramsay was coaching the Trail Blazers, and invited Adelman to interview when a position opened on his staff. Adelman worked under Ramsay for three seasons and Mike Schuler for 2½ more, then took over as interim coach with 35 games left in the 1988-89 season.