Mattie T’s Tribute to Chuck Daly (1930-2009)
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on May 9, 2009
The basketball world is in mourning today, as the first coach ever to win both an NBA Championship & an Olympic gold medal passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 78.
Chuck Daly’s first NBA job came as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1978, where he helped the team make 3 straight playoff appearances which included a loss in the 1980 NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Daly’s first head coaching stint came with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 1981-82 season, but he was fired after a dismal record of 9-32.
2 years later, Daly became head coach of the Detroit Pistons & stringed the franchise to 9 consecutive postseason appearences & back-to-back NBA Finals wins in 1989 & 1990.
Daly was also honored of becoming the head coach for the 1992 United States’ men Dream Team in Barcelona, who many consider as the best international team ever.
The ’92 Dream Team won by an average of 44.5 points per game, while Daly was known for not using timeouts during tournament play.
After Daly’s 9 years in Detroit came to an end, he compilied a playoff record of 4-9 in four seasons with the New Jersey Nets & Orlando Magic before officialy retiring at the end of the 1998-99 season.
Daly was selected in 1996 by the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Celebration as one of the top 10 coaches of all-time.
Chuck is also tied for 9th on the all-time playoff win list for head coaches alongside Golden State’s Don Nelson.
Daly is survived by his wife Terry, daughter Cydney & two grandchildren.
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