Rick Adelman, a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee who won 1,042 NBA games and reached the Finals twice with the Portland Trail Blazers, died at 79. The National Basketball Coaches Association announced his passing, and his cause of death was not immediately pro
Rick Adelman spent decades building NBA teams that were defined by discipline, calm confidence, and an ability to make the next season feel possible. He died at 79.
The National Basketball Coaches Association announced Adelman’s death on Monday. The cause of death was not immediately announced. Adelman was 79, and he was the father of Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman.
As a coach, Adelman won 1,042 games, the 10th-most in NBA coaching history. Only four other coaches—Pat Riley. Gregg Popovich. Jerry Sloan and George Karl—coached more games and held a better winning percentage. Adelman’s record reflected longevity as much as success: he coached in the NBA for 29 years. serving as a head coach for 23 seasons.
He took the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA Finals twice. He was also head coach in Sacramento, Houston, Minnesota and Golden State, a span that included stops across different eras of the league.
In a statement after the NBCA honored him with its Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023, the coaches’ association said Adelman would be remembered “not only as a coach and a player, but also as a mentor to so many in the basketball community.”
Indiana coach Rick Carlisle, speaking when the award was presented three years earlier, credited Adelman’s approach to winning. “Rick Adelman’s NBA coaching career has been highlighted by innovation, integrity and excellence,” Carlisle said. He added that Adelman’s teams “always played to their strengths. ” and that Adelman “found subtle ways to reinvent NBA basketball to help his players thrive.” Carlisle described Adelman’s personality as quiet and unassuming. saying it “belies his impact as one of the great NBA coaches of all time.”.
Before coaching, Adelman played in the NBA from 1969 through 1975 as a point guard for five teams. His playing career included stints with the Bulls in 1973-74 and 1974-75. Even then, it was clear he was moving toward something larger than his role on the floor.
The Kings also offered a tribute, saying Adelman “will be remembered for the way he inspired those around him — with humility, integrity, kindness, and an unwavering belief in the power of teamwork.”
Adelman’s death closes a chapter for a basketball community that treated him less like a legend from a distance and more like a steady presence you could learn from. As the NBA mourns his passing. his record—1. 042 wins and two Finals appearances—remains. but so does the imprint described by coaches and teams: a mentor’s legacy carried quietly. season after season.
Rick Adelman NBA Portland Trail Blazers NBA Finals coaching wins Hall of Fame National Basketball Coaches Association Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award
79?? dang, RIP.
1,042 wins sounds fake like it was for NCAA or something. He coached the Blazers right? Finals twice doesn’t feel like “only” 2 times tho.
So David Adelman is his dad? I’m confused bc I thought the Nuggets coach had some different last name. Anyway, 1,042 wins is wild, but they still couldn’t win a title??
Wish they would’ve said the cause of death. Like was it COVID or heart or something? Also why does it keep talking about “discipline” like that’s gonna help now… and Pat Riley better get his flowers too. Coach deaths always make me think the league is cursed or something, idk.