Rick Adelman, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Sacramento Kings to their most successful era and guided the Portland Trail Blazers to two NBA Finals appearances, has died at the age of 79. The National Basketball Coaches Association confirmed his death on Monday, though no cause was given.
Adelman's coaching career spanned 23 seasons in the NBA, during which he compiled a regular-season record of 1,042 wins and 749 losses. He ranks 10th in all-time NBA coaching victories. His teams were renowned for their fluid, high-scoring offence, particularly the 'Princeton offence' that he popularised with the Kings.
Born in Lynwood, California, Adelman played college basketball at Loyola Marymount before being drafted by the San Diego Rockets in 1968. As a player, he was part of the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers championship team. He transitioned into coaching, first as an assistant, then as head coach of the Trail Blazers in 1988, leading them to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992.
His most celebrated stint came with the Sacramento Kings from 1998 to 2006, where he turned the franchise into a perennial contender. The Kings reached the Western Conference Finals in 2002, losing a controversial seven-game series to the Los Angeles Lakers. Adelman later coached the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves before retiring in 2014.
Tributes have flooded in from former players and colleagues. Chris Webber, who played under Adelman in Sacramento, said: 'He was a genius on the court and a father figure off it. I owe him so much.' NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Adelman 'one of the most innovative and respected coaches in league history'.
Adelman was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. He is survived by his wife, Mary Kay, and their four children.
Source: National Basketball Coaches Association