LOS ANGELES: Hall of Fame coach Rick Adelman, who guided the Portland Trail Blazers to two unsuccessful NBA Finals appearances during a 29-year coaching career, has passed away at the age of 79, the National Basketball Coaches Association announced on Monday.
A Storied Coaching Career
Adelman, whose son David coaches the Denver Nuggets, accumulated 1,042 victories over 23 seasons as an NBA head coach, ranking 10th on the all-time win list. He led Portland to the NBA Finals in 1990, where they lost to the Detroit Pistons, and in 1992, when they were defeated by Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. His coaching journey also included stints with the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves before concluding his career after the 2013-14 season.
Portland Trail Blazers Era
Adelman served as an assistant coach for Portland from 1983 to 1989 before taking over as head coach when Mike Schuler was fired in 1989. He went 14-21 as an interim coach and led the Trail Blazers to the playoffs. Despite a first-round exit, he was given the full-time job. Under his leadership, Portland reached the NBA Finals twice and advanced to the Western Conference finals in 1991, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, first-round playoff exits in 1993 and 1994 led to his dismissal.
Success with Sacramento Kings
After a year off, Adelman returned with Golden State but could not achieve a winning season in two years and was fired. He then sat out another season before being hired by Sacramento. In eight seasons with the Kings, they never missed the playoffs, making their best run to the conference finals in 2002 before losing to the Lakers. His contract was not renewed after the 2005-06 season, and the Kings did not reach the playoffs again until 2023. The Sacramento Kings organization expressed deep sadness over his passing, stating, "The Sacramento Kings organization is deeply saddened by the passing of Rick Adelman, a beloved coach whose leadership, character, and vision helped define an era of Kings basketball that inspired our city and captivated fans around the world."
Later Coaching Stops and Legacy
Enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021, Adelman sat out a season before joining the Houston Rockets, who went on a 22-game winning streak in his 2017-18 debut season, the third-longest in NBA history. The following season, the Rockets lost in the second round to the Lakers despite a strong effort from Chinese star Yao Ming. This was Adelman's last playoff run; he missed the playoffs in two more seasons at Houston and three final campaigns from 2011-2014 at Minnesota. Adelman hired his son David as an assistant coach in 2011, and David later assisted with the Denver Nuggets, helping them win the NBA title in 2023.
Playing Career
Adelman played seven seasons in the NBA as a guard, starting in 1968 with the then-San Diego Rockets before moving to Portland in the 1970 expansion draft. He played three seasons with the Trail Blazers, one with the Chicago Bulls, and ended his final campaign in 1975 with stints at the Bulls, the expansion New Orleans Jazz, and the Kansas City-Omaha (later Sacramento) Kings.
