Sports

Every coach ever has been called a bum at some point — but now these three add ‘Hall of Famer’ to their resumes


Image for article titled Every coach ever has been called a bum at some point — but now these three add 'Hall of Famer' to their resumes

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Rick Adelman has the most extensive NBA coaching resume of anyone being enshrined over the weekend, but before that, he was a point guard in the league for seven seasons. From 1968-1975, he posted 7.7 points and 3.5 assists per game.

His NBA coaching career began in 1983 as a Portland Trail Blazers assistant, where he was promoted to head coach prior to the 1988-1989 season. In Portland, led by Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter, Adelman helped bring the club to two NBA Finals appearances in 1990 and 1992 before being dismissed following the 1993-94 season. As head coach in Portland, Adelman compiled a 291-154 regular season record, went 36-33 in the playoffs, and tasted postseason basketball all six years. He later coached the Golden State Warriors from 1995-1997, but this was really just the transitional period from Run TMC to the Latrell Sprewell-choking-PJ Carlesimo era.

Adelman also spearheaded one of the most notable basketball team eras in recent memory, the late 1990s/early 2000s Sacramento Kings, whose leader, Chris Webber, will be inducted into the Hall as a player this weekend.

From 1998-2006, the Kings went 395-229 in the regular season, reached the 2002 Western Conference Finals, which they were cheated out of winning (they were No. 1 on this very competitive list), and made it to the playoffs out west in all eight seasons. Adelman also coached the Houston Rockets from 2007-2011, then the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2011-2014, both resulting in limited success. Adelman retired from coaching with a 1,042-749 regular season record, giving him the ninth-most wins in NBA history. He also went 79-78 in the playoffs, and is one of the league’s most successful coaches to never win a title.

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