The NBA community mourned the death of Hall of Fame coach Rick Adelman, the father of Nuggets head coach David Adelman, on Monday.
Adelman was 79. No cause of death was released.
Rick Adelman got his first NBA head coaching job in 1989 with the Trail Blazers. After five years in Portland, Adelman went on to coach the Warriors (1995-97), Kings (1999-2006), Rockets (2007-11) and Timberwolves (2011-14).
Adelman, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s class of 2021, was awarded the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. He gave his son his first shot in the NBA as a player development coach with the Timberwolves in 2011. David continued with the franchise after his father retired in 2014 and went on to become an assistant with the Magic and Nuggets before becoming Denver’s head coach last year.
Rick started coaching after playing at Loyola Marymount and a professional career that included stints with the San Diego Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Jazz and Kansas City-Omaha Kings.
His coaching career started a couple of years later as an assistant at Oregon’s Chemeketa Community College. After a handful of years as a Trail Blazers assistant, he was named Portland’s head coach, starting a Hall of Fame career that spanned nearly 30 years. He ranks 10th in career wins with 1,042.
“Adelman will be remembered not only as a coach and a player but also a mentor to so many in the basketball community,” the NBA Coaches Association said in a statement. “Rick was a husband to Mary Kay for 56 years; father to Kathy, RJ, Laura, David, Caitlin and Patrick and a grandfather of 12. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Adelman family during this difficult time.”