Richard Leonard Adelman (born June 16, 1946) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach. He coached 23 seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Adelman served as head coach of the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

and

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

.Rick Adelman to announce retirement
ESPN.com He was inducted into the

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and prese ...

in the class of 2021.

Early life and playing career

Adelman was born in

Lynwood, California Lynwood is a city in Los Angeles County, California. At the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 69,772, down from 69,845 at the 2000 census. Lynwood is located near South Gate and Compton in the central portion of the Los Angeles ...

, the son of Gladys (née Olsen) and Leonard Joseph "L. J." Adelman, who were from North Dakota and worked as teachers and farmers. Adelman began his basketball career in high school at Pius X High School in Downey, CA, then matriculated to collegiate stardom at Loyola University of Los Angeles, now known as

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

. In the 1968 NBA draft, he was selected by the

San Diego Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1967, and pl ...

(now the Houston Rockets) in the 7th round. He played two seasons in San Diego before being taken by the expansion Trail Blazers in the 1970 expansion draft; he then played three seasons in Portland. He also played for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

, New Orleans (now Utah) Jazz, and the Kansas City/Omaha (now Sacramento) Kings. He ended his playing career in 1975.

Coaching career

Chemeketa Community College

From 1977 through to 1983, Adelman coached at

Chemeketa Community College Chemeketa Community College is a public community college in Salem, Oregon, with a campus in McMinnville, and education centers in Dallas, Brooks, and Woodburn. In addition, the college has a Center for Business and Industry in downtown Salem ...

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

Portland Trail Blazers

He was then hired by the

(then coached by Jack Ramsay) as an assistant. When Ramsay was fired and replaced with

Mike Schuler Michael Harold Schuler (September 22, 1940 – June 28, 2022) was an American basketball coach in both college and the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers from 198 ...

in 1986, Adelman was retained; when Schuler was in turn fired during the 1988–89 season, Adelman was promoted to interim coach. After leading the team into the playoffs that year (despite a 39–43 record), Adelman was given the coaching position on a full-time basis in the 1989 off-season. The next three years were quite successful for Adelman and the Trail Blazers; the team went to the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

and

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

(losing to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

and the

respectively) and went to the Western Conference finals in 1991 (losing to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

). Adelman spent two more years with the team, but was dismissed after the 1993–1994 season.

Golden State Warriors

In 1995, Adelman was hired as the head coach of the

. He was unable to duplicate his success in Portland, and was fired after only two years with the team.

Sacramento Kings

After a year's absence from the sidelines, Adelman was hired by the

in 1998. Under Adelman's guidance, the Kings were one of the most successful teams in the Western Conference, qualifying for the playoffs every year of his Sacramento career. During the Kings' 2000 playoff run, they met

Phil Jackson Philip Douglas Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. A power forward, Jackson played 12 seasons in the NBA, winning NBA championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and ...

's Los Angeles Lakers. Adelman questioned Jackson's motivational techniques when it was learned that Jackson compared Adelman to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. In 2002, the Kings made a serious run for the NBA Finals. After clinching the first seed in the competitive Western Conference, the Kings blazed through the opening two rounds but lost to the Lakers in a controversial series with noticeably lopsided officiating in favor of the Lakers. In 2006, Adelman (in the final year of his contract) led the Kings to the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. Despite the team struggling early in the regular season, the Kings rebounded and qualified for the playoffs as the #8 seed. Although competitive, they were defeated 4–2 by the defending champion

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...

. Adelman's contract with the Kings expired at the end of the 2005–2006 season. On May 9, it was reported by the ''

Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'' that his contract would not be renewed. The Kings have yet to reach the playoffs - or post a winning record - since.

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets brought in Adelman as their new head coach five days after the dismissal of

Jeff Van Gundy Jeffrey William Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962) is an American commentator for ESPN and former basketball coach. He served as head coach of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his t ...

on May 18, 2007. Van Gundy had taken the Rockets to three playoff appearances in four years with no series victories. In his first season as head coach, Adelman guided the Rockets to a 22-game winning streak from January through March 2008, the third-longest winning streak in NBA history. However, they lost in the first round in six games. In the 2009 season, the Rockets finished fifth in the West with a 53–29 record. They entered the playoffs without their star shooting guard,

Tracy McGrady Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, two- ...

, due to an injury. Despite this loss, the Rockets defeated the

in six games to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time since 1997. Although they would lose the series to the

, they also proved their resilience by taking the series to seven games despite the loss of star center Yao Ming in Game 3 of that series. Adelman won his 800th career game, 13th among coaches in NBA history, on March 24, 2008, against the Sacramento Kings. On April 18, 2011, the

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

reported that the Rockets would not give Adelman a new contract; Adelman and the team parted ways after four seasons and two playoff appearances.

Minnesota Timberwolves

On September 13, 2011, the

confirmed the hiring of Rick Adelman as their new coach.Proven winner takes challenge
Star Tribune. On April 6, 2013, Adelman won his 1,000th career game with a victory over the

, becoming just the eighth coach in NBA history ever to do so.Pistons vs. Timberwolves - Game Recap - April 6, 2013 - ESPN
/ref> On April 21, 2014, Adelman announced his retirement from coaching in the NBA. It was also announced that he would stay with the Timberwolves as a consultant. Adelman ranks ninth in terms of games coached and games won. He went 79–78 (.503) in playoff games and advanced to the NBA Finals twice, both times with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1990 and 1992 where they lost to the

and

Head coaching record

, - , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 35, , 14, , 21, , .400, , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Pacific, , 3, , 0, , 3, , .000 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

First Round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 59, , 23, , .720, , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Pacific, , 21, , 12, , 9, , .571 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 63, , 19, , .768, , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Pacific, , 16, , 9, , 7, , .563 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Finals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 57, , 25, , .695, , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Pacific, , 21, , 13, , 8, , .619 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 51, , 31, , .622, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Pacific, , 4, , 1, , 3, , .250 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 47, , 35, , .573, , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Pacific, , 4, , 1, , 3, , .250 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 36, , 46, , .439, , style="text-align:center;", 6th in Pacific, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 30, , 52, , .366, , style="text-align:center;", 7th in Pacific, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 50, , 27, , 23, , .540, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Pacific, , 5, , 2, , 3, , .400 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 44, , 38, , .537, , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Pacific, , 5, , 2, , 3, , .400 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 55, , 27, , .671, , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Pacific, , 8, , 3, , 5, , .375 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 61, , 21, , .744, , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Pacific, , 16, , 10, , 6, , .625 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Finals , - , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 59, , 23, , .720, , style="text-align:center;", 1st in Pacific, , 12, , 7, , 5, , .583 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 55, , 27, , .671, , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Pacific, , 12, , 7, , 5, , .583 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 50, , 32, , .610, , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Pacific, , 5, , 1, , 4, , .200 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 44, , 38, , .537, , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Pacific, , 6, , 2, , 4, , .333 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;",

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 55, , 27, , .671, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Southwest, , 6, , 2, , 4, , .333 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in

, - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 53, , 29, , .654, , style="text-align:center;", 2nd in Southwest, , 13, , 7, , 6, , .538 , style="text-align:center;", Lost in Conf. Semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 42, , 40, , .512, , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Southwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 43, , 39, , .524, , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Southwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 66, , 26, , 40, , .394, , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Northwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 31, , 51, , , , style="text-align:center;", 5th in Northwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 40, , 42, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Northwest, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 1,791, , 1,042, , 749, , , , , , 157, , 79, , 78, , .503

References

External links

Profile as a player

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adelman, Rick 1946 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from California Chicago Bulls players Golden State Warriors head coaches Guards (basketball) Houston Rockets head coaches Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Kansas City Kings players Los Angeles Stars draft picks Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball players Minnesota Timberwolves head coaches New Orleans Jazz players People from Lynwood, California Portland Trail Blazers assistant coaches Portland Trail Blazers expansion draft picks Portland Trail Blazers head coaches Portland Trail Blazers players Sacramento Kings head coaches San Diego Rockets draft picks San Diego Rockets players Sportspeople from Downey, California