{"id":996,"date":"2026-06-02T06:09:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T06:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=996"},"modified":"2026-06-02T06:09:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T06:09:54","slug":"hall-of-famer-rick-adelman-former-warriors-head-coach-who-is-10th-winningest-coach-in-nba-history-dies-at-79","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=996","title":{"rendered":"Hall of Famer Rick Adelman, former Warriors head coach who is 10th-winningest coach in NBA history, dies at 79"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>By TIM REYNOLDS<\/p>\n<p>Rick Adelman, a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee who played for seven NBA seasons before becoming one of the game\u2019s all-time winningest coaches, has died, the National Basketball Coaches Association announced Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=994\">QB who led Serra to a CCS title last season no longer at the school. Where will he play?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Adelman, the father of Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman, was 79. The cause of his death was not immediately announced.<\/p>\n<p>Rick Adelman won 1,042 games as an NBA coach, 10th-most in league history. Only four other coaches \u2014 Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich, Jerry Sloan and George Karl \u2014 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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdelman will be remembered not only as a coach and a player, but also as a mentor to so many in the basketball community,\u201d read a statement from the coaches\u2019 association, which honored Adelman with its Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Adelman coached the Warriors for two seasons, arriving following a tumultuous 1994-95 season that saw Chris Webber sit out the start of the season because of his fued with Don Nelson. Nelson resigned during the season and Bob Lanier finished the season as the interim head coach. Adelman arrived after coaching the Portland Trailblazers for two seasons \u2014 including two appearances in the Finals \u2014 and the Warriors went 36-46. They went 30-52 the following season and Adelman and his staff were fired. He took over with the Kings a year later and led the Kings to eight consecutive playoff appearances, including to the Western Conference finals in 2002.<\/p>\n<p>He also coached the Rockets and the Timberwolves before retiring following the 2014 season. At the time, he ranked ninth in NBA history in games coached and games won.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRick Adelman\u2019s NBA coaching career has been highlighted by innovation, integrity and excellence,\u201d Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said when the NBCA presented that award three years ago. \u201cHis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Adelman also played in the NBA from 1969 through 1975 as a point guard for five different teams \u2014 but found his calling as a coach.<\/p>\n<p>The Kings, in paying tribute, said Adelman \u201cwill be remembered for the way he inspired those around him \u2014 with humility, integrity, kindness, and an unwavering belief in the power of teamwork.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Adelman\u2019s path to the NBA, as a coach, was unintentional.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe had great success there,\u201d Adelman said in his Hall of Fame enshrinement speech. \u201cThe one thing I did not realize is Jack Ramsey was following my team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=992\">Man dies following triple shooting in downtown San Jose<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ramsey was coaching the Portland Trail Blazers, and invited Adelman to interview when a position opened on his staff. Adelman worked under Ramsey for three seasons and Mike Schuler for 2 1\/2 more, then took over as interim coach with 35 games left in the 1988-89 season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had a team that was ready to win,\u201d Adelman said in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Blazers owner Paul Allen told Adelman he could coach the 1989-90 season. The rest is history. Portland won 59 games that season with Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Jerome Kersey and Buck Williams leading the way, getting to the NBA Finals and falling to Detroit.<\/p>\n<p>Adelman was off and running. He took the Blazers back to the NBA Finals two years later, falling then to Chicago. After his Portland era, Adelman coached two years at Golden State and then went to Sacramento \u2014 where he had eight winning seasons in an eight-year stint, with players like Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovi\u0107, Mike Bibby, Chris Webber, Jason Williams, Bobby Jackson and current Kings coach Doug Christie. And in those Sacramento years, Adelman was widely credited for running some types of offenses that the league had never seen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was a brilliant strategist and teacher of the game, and an even better person,\u201d NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.<\/p>\n<p>Adelman had 210 players appear in at least one NBA game for him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe actually challenged me and poured into trusting me,\u201d 20-year guard Kyle Lowry said Monday night. \u201cThat was important for me. He didn\u2019t have to. He could have done everything else, he could have played other players, but he believed in me. \u2026 He just trusted his players. He just wanted to win. And if it wasn\u2019t for him, I don\u2019t know what career I would have. It\u2019s a sad day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among Adelman\u2019s accomplishments: He engineered a 22-game winning streak with Houston in 2008, a run that is the fourth-longest in NBA history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCoach Adelman guided the Rockets with professionalism, integrity, and a deep commitment to the game,\u201d the Rockets said in a release. \u201cHis role in leading the team during the 22-game winning streak in 2008 remains one of the most remarkable achievements in franchise history and will always be remembered by Rockets fans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Blazers noted that not only did Adelman lead the team to the finals twice, but he was a player on the inaugural Portland team in 1970.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRick was one of the most influential figures in franchise history,\u201d the Blazers said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=990\">San Pablo woman charged with attempted murder, robbery<\/a><\/p>\n<p>__<\/p>\n<p>AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nba<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Adelman coached the Warriors for two seasons during a 23-year coaching career that also included stops at Portland, Sacramento, Houston and Minnesota<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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