Playing career
The Detroit Pistons selected Loughery in the second round of the 1962 NBA draft (13th overall). [10] Loughery spent 11 seasons in the NBA (1962–1973), playing for the Pistons, the Bullets, and the Philadelphia 76ers, almost nine of them with the Bullets. After spending 1962-63 with the Pistons, Detroit traded him early in the 1963-64 season to the Bullets for Larry Staverman. [3] [1] As a rookie in Detroit, he averaged less than 15 minutes a game, with a scoring average below seven points. He played in only one game for the Pistons the following season before the trade. [1]
Loughery credits former Bullets, and Naismith Hall of Fame, coach Bobby "Slick" Leonard with giving Loughery a chance to prove himself in the NBA. [11] [12] During his tenure with the Bullets, playing shooting guard, Loughery averaged 16.6 points and over 31 minutes per game. [1] In the 1965 playoffs against the St. Louis Hawks, he averaged 21.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and four assists. [13] His best scoring seasons came in 1968-69 (22.6) and 1969-70 (21.9), [1] teaming in Baltimore's backcourt with future hall of famer Earl Monroe. [14] [15] Playing with two more future hall of famers, Wes Unseld [16] and Gus Johnson, [17] his Bullets teams reached the playoffs from 1969-1972. In the 1969 playoffs against the New York Knicks, he averaged 20.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists; and in the 1971 playoffs against the 76ers, he averaged 19.6 points and five assists. [18] [19] [20] [21]
During a game while playing for the Bullets, the Warriors hall of fame guard Guy Rodgers punched Loughery with such force that it caused a bridge to fly out of Loughery's mouth. [22] Loughery once played in a playoff series while recovering from four broken ribs and a punctured lung, initially wearing a steel jacket for protection. [23]
He was traded along with Fred Carter from the Bullets to the Philadelphia 76ers for Archie Clark, a 1973 second-round selection (19th overall– Louie Nelson) and cash on October 17, 1971. [24] [25] His head coaching career began when he replaced Roy Rubin as player-coach of a 76ers team that was 4–47 on January 23, 1973. [26] He received a player-coach contract which included an offer to continue in that capacity for two more years beyond the balance of that season. [27] The team slightly improved under Loughery, posting a 5–26 record for the remainder of the season. He declined the offer to stay with the 76ers and was eventually replaced by Gene Shue on June 15, 1973. [28]
Coaching career
Instead, he effectively retired as an active player when he accepted a five‐year contract as head coach of the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association (ABA) on April 26, 1973, succeeding Lou Carnesecca who had elected to return to St. John's University in a similar capacity. [2] With superstar Julius Erving, Loughery won two ABA championships in three seasons. [29] [30] After the ABA disbanded and the Nets joined the NBA, Loughery continued to coach the Nets for their first five seasons in the league. The team would struggle in their first couple of seasons without Erving, whose contract was sold to the Philadelphia 76ers due to financial struggles. Loughery later said that Erving's performance against Denver in the second ABA championship series they won was the best he had ever seen any basketball player ever play. [31]
The team would also move to New Jersey and become the New Jersey Nets. [32] He was fired midway through the 1980–81 season and replaced by Bob MacKinnon. It has also been reported that he resigned over broad differences in philosophy with the owner. [33] MacKinnon was considered an interim head coach. [34] Loughery gave Phil Jackson his first job as an assistant coach with the Nets, while Jackson was finishing out his playing career. [35] [36]
Loughery was hired by the Atlanta Hawks to replace Hubie Brown the very next season, retaining Mike Fratello as an assistant coach. Loughery guided the Hawks to two straight playoff appearances, including one with rookie Dominique Wilkins. He was fired once again after the 1982–83 season and replaced by Mike Fratello. [37] [38] [39] [40] [41]
The next two seasons, Loughery coached the Chicago Bulls. In his second season with rookie Michael Jordan, the Bulls made the playoffs. [42] In the book The Jordan Rules Michael was quoted as saying that Loughery was the most fun coach he ever played for and that Loughery allowed him to free-lance and play the style he wanted. Jordan said in a 1992 interview that Loughery gave him the confidence to go out and play at the highest level by showing trust in Jordan during his rookie year. [43] Loughery was fired for having "philosophical differences" with Jerry Krause, the Bulls vice president of operations who had functionally replaced Rod Thorn, who earlier had been fired as general manager. [44] [45]
Loughery went to the Washington Bullets the next season as an assistant to Gene Shue. When Shue was fired with 13 games left in the 1985–86 season, Loughery guided the team to the playoffs, and did so once again the next season. [46] [47] He was dismissed and replaced by Wes Unseld on January 3, 1988, as a result of the Bullets' 8–19 start. [48]
After working in broadcasting, doing part-time work for TBS and TNT, Loughery was hired by the Miami Heat as their head coach three years after they joined the league as an expansion team. Loughery guided the Heat to their first ever playoff appearance in 1991-92, and again in 1993–94. [49] [50]
Naismith Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown once said the real key to Loughery's success as a coach was that he showed his players appreciation for the sacrifices they made as players. [51]
As a coach, Loughery was also known for his animated interactions with the referees, and receiving technical fouls. [51] As of 2000, Loughery had the second most technical fouls in NBA history. [52] He was once given three technical fouls in a game by referee Richie Powers, contrary to NBA rules which only allowed for two. Powers also gave player Bernard King three technical fouls. The game was between the Sixers and the Nets, with Loughery coaching the Nets. After a successful protest, the game was replayed months later, from the point in time the technical fouls were assessed. Powers was given a multi-game suspension. In the interim, there had been a trade between the Sixers and the Nets involving Eric Money, who had earlier played and scored for the Nets, and then later scored in the same (continued) game as a Sixer. [53] During the same season, Loughery had been suspended three games for physical contact with a referee, but had won the admiration of his players and owner throughout the year in leading a team that had been on the verge of bankruptcy. [54]
