NBA: Rick Adelman, former Blazers coach and a towering presence on the sideline, dies at 79
Rick Adelman has died at the age of 79, the North American Basketball Coaches Association announced. A respected figure in NBA coaching, he made his biggest mark with the Portland Trail Blazers, leading them to the NBA Finals twice, in 1990 and 1992. On both occasions, the climb proved too steep for the Oregon franchise, which was beaten by the Detroit Pistons and then by Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls at the height of their powers. Between those two runs, Adelman also took Portland to the Western Conference finals in 1991 before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers.
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More than 1,000 wins and a place in the Hall of Fame
Across 23 seasons on an NBA bench, Rick Adelman racked up 1,042 wins, putting him among the 10 most successful coaches in league history. After Portland, he went on to coach the Sacramento Kings, the Houston Rockets and finally the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he retired in 2014. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021, he was recognised for a career built on consistency and staying power at the top level. A former Trail Blazers player in the 1970s, he remained tied to the Oregon franchise for the rest of his life. [mathodds_app_cta]
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