Rick Adelman

Not to be confused with Ric Edelman.

Rick Adelman

Adelman with the Portland Trail Blazers in 1970
Personal information
Born	(1946-06-16) June 16, 1946 (age 78) Lynwood, California, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school	St. Pius X (Downey, California)
College	Loyola Marymount (1965–1968)
NBA draft	1968: 7th round, 79th overall pick
Selected by the San Diego Rockets
Playing career	1968–1975
Position	Point guard
Number	12, 21, 5
Coaching career	1977–2014
Career history
As player:
1968–1970	San Diego Rockets
1970–1973	Portland Trail Blazers
1973–1974	Chicago Bulls
1974–1975	New Orleans Jazz
1975	Kansas City-Omaha Kings
As coach:
1977–1983	Chemeketa CC
1983–1989	Portland Trail Blazers (assistant)
1989–1994	Portland Trail Blazers
1995–1997	Golden State Warriors
1999–2006	Sacramento Kings
2007–2011	Houston Rockets
2011–2014	Minnesota Timberwolves
Career highlights and awards
As player: WCC Player of the Year (1968) 2× First-team All-WCC (1967, 1968) As coach: 3× NBA All-Star Game head coach (1991, 2001, 2003) Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award (2023)
Career playing statistics
Points	3,579 (7.7 ppg)
Rebounds	1,129 (2.4 rpg)
Assists	1,606 (3.5 apg)
Stats   at NBA.com
Stats   at Basketball-Reference.com
Career coaching record
NBA	1042–749 (.582)
Basketball Hall of Fame as coach

Richard Leonard Adelman (born June 16, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He coached 23 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Adelman served as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves. ^[1] He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in the class of 2021. ^[2]

Early life and playing career

Adelman at Loyola University

Adelman was born in Lynwood, California, the son of Gladys (née Olsen) and Leonard Joseph "L. J." Adelman, who were from North Dakota and worked as teachers and farmers. ^[3] Adelman began his basketball career in high school at Pius X High School in Downey, California, then matriculated to collegiate stardom at Loyola University of Los Angeles, now known as Loyola Marymount University. ^[4] In the 1968 NBA draft, he was selected by the San Diego Rockets (now the Houston Rockets) in the 7th round. ^[5] 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, 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 in Salem, Oregon.

Portland Trail Blazers

He was then hired by the Portland Trail Blazers (then coached by Jack Ramsay) as an assistant. When Ramsay was fired and replaced with Mike Schuler 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 in 1990 and 1992 (losing to the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls respectively) and went to the Western Conference finals in 1991 (losing to the Los Angeles Lakers). Adelman spent two more years with the team, but was dismissed after the 1993–1994 season.

Golden State Warriors

On May 19, 1995, Adelman was hired as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors, which came off the heels of an injury-riddled 26-win season prior to his hiring. ^[6] He was unable to have a winning season in two years there, with his first season seeing the team win just ten of their last 28 games on their way to a 36–46 record. The following season saw them finish last in the division with 30 wins. On April 28, 1997, Adelman and his assistants were fired, with Adelman stating his feeling that it seemed inevitable by February. ^[7]

Sacramento Kings

After a year's absence from the sidelines, Adelman was hired by the Sacramento Kings 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's Los Angeles Lakers. Adelman questioned Jackson's motivational techniques when it was learned that Jackson compared Adelman to Adolf Hitler. ^[8]

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. ^[9]

In 2006, Adelman (in the final year of his contract) led the Kings to the playoffs. 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. 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 that his contract would not be renewed. The Kings did not reach the playoffs again until 2023, nearly 17 years later.

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets brought in Adelman as their new head coach five days after the dismissal of Jeff Van Gundy 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, due to an injury. Despite this loss, the Rockets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in six games to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time since 1997. Although they would lose the series to the Los Angeles Lakers, 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. ^[10]

On April 18, 2011, the Houston Chronicle reported that the Rockets would not give Adelman a new contract; Adelman and the team parted ways after four seasons and two playoff appearances. ^[11]

Minnesota Timberwolves

On September 13, 2011, the Minnesota Timberwolves confirmed the hiring of Adelman as their new coach. ^[12]

On April 6, 2013, Adelman won his 1,000th career game with a victory over the Detroit Pistons, becoming just the eighth coach in NBA history ever to do so. ^[13]

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. ^[1] 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 Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls.

Career playing statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBA

Source ^[14]

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1968–69	San Diego	77	18.8	.394	.642	2.8	3.1			6.3
1969–70	San Diego	35	20.5	.389	.747	2.3	3.2			7.4
1970–71	Portland	81	28.4	.422	.724	3.5	4.7			12.6
1971–72	Portland	80	30.6	.437	.751	2.9	5.2			10.1
1972–73	Portland	76	24.0	.408	.716	2.1	3.9			6.6
1973–74	Chicago	55	11.2	.376	.711	1.3	1.0	.7	.0	3.3
1974–75	Chicago	12	28.3	.413	.718	2.2	2.9	1.3	.1	9.5
1974–75	New Orleans	28	21.9	.421	.695	2.0	2.5	1.7	.2	6.3
1974–75	Kansas City-Omaha	18	6.7	.464	.800	.8	.4	.4	.1	1.7
Career		462	22.6	.415	.713	2.4	3.5	.9	.1	7.7

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1969	San Diego	6	31.2	.453	.595	2.5	4.8			11.7
1974	Chicago	9	12.0	.471	.636	1.1	.8	.8	.0	4.3
1975	Kansas City-Omaha	6	5.7	.333	.750	.3	.5	.2	.0	2.0
Playoffs		21	15.7	.448	.625	1.3	1.9	.5	.0	5.8

Head coaching record

Legend

Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L %	Win–loss %
Playoffs	PG	Playoff games	PW	Playoff wins	PL	Playoff losses	PW–L %	Playoff win–loss %

Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
Portland	1988–89	35	14	21	.400	5th in Pacific	3	0	3	.000	Lost in First Round
Portland	1989–90	82	59	23	.720	2nd in Pacific	21	12	9	.571	Lost in NBA Finals
Portland	1990–91	82	63	19	.768	1st in Pacific	16	9	7	.563	Lost in Conf. Finals
Portland	1991–92	82	57	25	.695	1st in Pacific	21	13	8	.619	Lost in NBA Finals
Portland	1992–93	82	51	31	.622	3rd in Pacific	4	1	3	.250	Lost in First Round
Portland	1993–94	82	47	35	.573	4th in Pacific	4	1	3	.250	Lost in First Round
Golden State	1995–96	82	36	46	.439	6th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Golden State	1996–97	82	30	52	.366	7th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Sacramento	1998–99	50	27	23	.540	3rd in Pacific	5	2	3	.400	Lost in First Round
Sacramento	1999–00	82	44	38	.537	5th in Pacific	5	2	3	.400	Lost in First Round
Sacramento	2000–01	82	55	27	.671	2nd in Pacific	8	3	5	.375	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Sacramento	2001–02	82	61	21	.744	1st in Pacific	16	10	6	.625	Lost in Conf. Finals
Sacramento	2002–03	82	59	23	.720	1st in Pacific	12	7	5	.583	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Sacramento	2003–04	82	55	27	.671	2nd in Pacific	12	7	5	.583	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Sacramento	2004–05	82	50	32	.610	2nd in Pacific	5	1	4	.200	Lost in First Round
Sacramento	2005–06	82	44	38	.537	4th in Pacific	6	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round
Houston	2007–08	82	55	27	.671	3rd in Southwest	6	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round
Houston	2008–09	82	53	29	.654	2nd in Southwest	13	7	6	.538	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
Houston	2009–10	82	42	40	.512	3rd in Southwest	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Houston	2010–11	82	43	39	.524	5th in Southwest	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Minnesota	2011–12	66	26	40	.394	5th in Northwest	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Minnesota	2012–13	82	31	51	.378	5th in Northwest	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Minnesota	2013–14	82	40	42	.488	3rd in Northwest	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
Career		1,791	1,042	749	.582		157	79	78	.503

Personal life

The year after retirement in 2014, Adelman and his wife Mary Kay settled in Portland to be with their family, which includes six children and eleven grandchildren.

Adelman's son David Adelman is a professional basketball coach. ^[15]

References

1. Rick Adelman to announce retirement ESPN.com
2. "Kings Legends Chris Webber, Rick Adelman Headline Electees into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame". NBA.com .
3. Adelman, Rick (August 18, 1992). "The Long, Hot Winter: A Year in the Life of the Portland Trail Blazers". Simon & Schuster – via Google Books.
4. "Richard Leonard Adelman". Basketball-Reference.Com. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
5. "Richard Leonard Adelman (Rick)". databaseBasketball.com. Archived from the original on September 25, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
6. "Golden State Hires Adelman, Ex-Portland Coach, Papers Report | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com.
7. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-04-29-sp-53576-story.html ^{[ bare URL ]}
8. "Sports: Veterans keeping Pacers in contention".
9. National Basketball Association criticisms and controversies#2002 Western Conference Finals – Kings vs. Lakers
10. "NBA on Yahoo! Sports - News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games".
11. Windhorst, Brian (April 18, 2011). "Source: Rick Adelman, Rockets split". ESPN. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
12. Proven winner takes challenge Star Tribune.
13. "Timberwolves 107-101 Pistons (Apr 6, 2013) Game Recap". ESPN.
14. "Rick Adelman NBA stats". Basketball Reference . Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
15. Eggers, Kerry (March 30, 2017). "NBA’s Rick Adelman scores in retirement". PortlandTribune.com.

External links

• Profile as a player
• Profile as a coach