Richard Leonard "Rick" Adelman (born June 16, 1946) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
former
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
professional player and current basketball coach. He is the head
coachIn sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
of the
Minnesota TimberwolvesThe Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...
of the NBA. Confirmation of the hiring came from the Timberwolves on September 13, 2011. He had previously served as head coach of the
Golden State WarriorsThe Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, the
Portland Trail BlazersThe Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
,
Sacramento KingsThe Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
and the
Houston RocketsThe 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 . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
.
Playing career
Born in
Lynwood, CaliforniaLynwood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. As of 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 southern portion of the Los Angeles Basin. Incorporated in...
, Adelman began his basketball career as a collegiate star at Loyola University of Los Angeles, now known as
Loyola Marymount UniversityLoyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
. In the
1968 NBA DraftThe 1968 NBA Draft was the 22nd annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on April 3, 1968 and May 8, 1968 before the 1968–69 season. In this draft, 14 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year...
, he was selected by the
San Diego RocketsThe 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 . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
(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 BullsThe Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
,
New Orleans (now Utah) JazzThe Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, and the
Kansas City/Omaha (now Sacramento) KingsThe Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
. He ended his playing career in 1975.
Coaching career
From 1977 through to 1983, Adelman coached at
Chemeketa Community CollegeChemeketa Community College is a community college located in Salem, Oregon, with smaller campuses in McMinnville, Dallas, Brooks, and Woodburn, and the Northwest Viticulture Center in Eola...
in
Salem, OregonSalem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
, after which he was hired by the
Portland Trail BlazersThe Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
(then coached by
Jack RamsayJack T. Ramsay is an American former basketball coach, commonly known as "Dr. Jack" . He is best known for coaching the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA Title, and for his broadcasting work with the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat, and for ESPN TV and ESPN Radio...
) as an assistant. When Ramsay was fired and replaced with
Mike SchulerMike Schuler is a former head coach in the National Basketball Association. He coached the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers in 338 games, and compiled a win-loss record of 179–159.In his first year as coach of the Trail Blazers, Schuler led the team to a 49–33 record, winning the...
in 1986, Adelman was retained; when Schuler was in turn fired during the
1989 seasonThe 1989-90 season was the 20th season for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association , in which the Blazers finished with a franchise-high 59–23 record and returned to the NBA Finals for the first time since their championship season of 1976–77...
(when poor team chemistry resulted in the team having a losing record), 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 FinalsThe NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
in 1990 and 1992 (losing to the
Detroit PistonsThe Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
and the
Chicago BullsThe Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
respectively) and went to the Western Conference finals in 1991 (losing to the
Los Angeles LakersThe Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
). Adelman spent two more years with the team, but was dismissed after the
1993–1994 seasonThe 1993–94 season was the 24th season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association . The Blazers went 47–35, fourth in the Pacific Division and seventh in the Western Conference...
.
In 1995, Adelman was hired as the head coach of the
Golden State WarriorsThe Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
. He was unable to duplicate his success in Portland, and was fired after only two years with the team.
After a year's absence from the sidelines, Adelman was hired by the
Sacramento KingsThe Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
in 1998. Under Adelman's guidance, the Kings were one of the most successful Western Conference teams, qualifying for the playoffs during every year of his Sacramento career.
During the Kings' 2000 playoff run, they met
Phil JacksonPhilip Douglas "Phil" Jackson is a retired American professional basketball coach and player. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association . His reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 through 1998;...
's Los Angeles Lakers. Adelman questioned Jackson's motivational techniques when it was learned that Jackson compared Adelman to
HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.
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 hard fought seven-game series in what some consider to be one of the greatest playoff series in NBA history
In 2006, Adelman (in the final year of his contract) led the Kings to the
playoffsThe 2006 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The Miami Heat won the first championship in the history of the franchise by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2006 NBA Finals...
. 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 SpursThe San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
. 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 have yet to reach the playoffs since.
The Houston Rockets brought in Rick Adelman as their new head coach, five days after the dismissal of
Jeff Van GundyJeffrey William "Jeff" Van Gundy is a former American basketball head coach. He coached most recently with the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets...
, on May 18, 2007. Van Gundy had taken the Rockets to three playoff appearances in four years with no series wins. In his first season as head coach, Adelman guided the Rockets to a 22-game winning streak from January through March 2008, the second-longest winning streak in NBA history.
In the
2009The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
season, the Rockets finished 5th in the West with a 53–29 record. They entered the playoffs without their star shooting guard,
Tracy McGradyTracy Lamar McGrady, Jr., is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Detroit Pistons.Entering the league after graduating from high school, McGrady eventually became a seven-time All-Star. He led the league in scoring in 2003 and 2004. He has also played for the Toronto...
, 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. However, they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, but surprised many people and proved their resilience by taking the series to seven games even though their star center,
Yao MingYao Ming is a retired Chinese professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association...
, had a season-ending injury in Game 3 of that series.
Adelman won his 800th career game, 13th among coaches in NBA history, on March 24, 2008 against his old team the Sacramento Kings.
On April 18th 2011, Houston Chronicle reported that the Houston Rockets would not give Adelman a new contract, and would part ways after 4 seasons
On September 13th 2011, the
Minnesota TimberwolvesThe Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Founded in 1989, the team is currently owned by Glen Taylor...
confirmed the hiring of Rick Adelman as their new coach.
Coaching record
|-
| align="left" |
PORThe Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
| align="left" |
|35||14||21||.400|| align="center" |5th in Pacific||3||0||3||.000
| align="center" |Lost in
First RoundThe 1989 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1988-89 NBA season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers, who were severely hampered by injuries, four...
|-
| align="left" |POR
| align="left" |
|82||59||23||.720|| align="center" |2nd in Pacific||21||12||9||.571
| align="center" |Lost in
NBA FinalsThe 1990 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1989-90 NBA season. The series pitted the Detroit Pistons against the Portland Trail Blazers...
|-
| align="left" |POR
| align="left" |
|82||63||19||.768|| align="center" |1st in Pacific||16||9||7||.563
| align="center" |Lost in
Conf. FinalsThe 1991 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1990–91 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their first NBA championship via a four-games-to-one victory over the Western Conference champion Los...
|-
| align="left" |POR
| align="left" |
|82||57||25||.695|| align="center" |1st in Pacific||21||13||8||.619
| align="center" |Lost in
NBA FinalsThe 1992 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1991–92 NBA season. The Chicago Bulls of the Eastern Conference took on the Portland Trail Blazers of the Western Conference for the title, with Chicago having home court advantage, as they had the best record in the NBA.The two teams appeared...
|-
| align="left" |POR
| align="left" |
|82||51||31||.622|| align="center" |3rd in Pacific||4||1||3||.250
| align="center" |Lost in
First RoundThe 1993 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1992-1993 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their third consecutive championship by defeating the Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns four...
|-
| align="left" |POR
| align="left" |
|82||47||35||.573|| align="center" |4th in Pacific||4||1||3||.250
| align="center" |Lost in
First RoundThe 1994 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1993-94 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals...
|-
| align="left" |
GSWThe Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
| align="left" |
|82||36||46||.439|| align="center" |6th in Pacific||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |GSW
| align="left" |
|82||30||52||.366|| align="center" |7th in Pacific||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |
SACThe Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
| align="left" |
|50||27||23||.540|| align="center" |3rd in Pacific||5||2||3||.400
| align="center" |Lost in
First RoundThe 1999 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1998-99 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs by defeating the eighth-seeded Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks four games to one...
|-
| align="left" |SAC
| align="left" |
|82||44||38||.537|| align="center" |5th in Pacific||5||2||3||.400
| align="center" |Lost in
First RoundThe 2000 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1999–2000 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers win their first championship in twelve years by defeating the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers...
|-
| align="left" |SAC
| align="left" |
|82||55||27||.671|| align="center" |2nd in Pacific||8||3||5||.375
| align="center" |Lost in
Conf. SemifinalsThe 2001 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2000–01 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers winning their second consecutive championship by defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers...
|-
| align="left" |SAC
| align="left" |
|82||61||21||.744|| align="center" |1st in Pacific||16||10||6||.625
| align="center" |Lost in
Conf. FinalsThe 2002 NBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2001–02 season. This would be the final postseason that held a best-of-5 first-round series; next year's postseason would see those series expanded to a best-of-7 format...
|-
| align="left" |SAC
| align="left" |
|82||59||23||.720|| align="center" |1st in Pacific||12||7||5||.583
| align="center" |Lost in
Conf. SemifinalsThe 2003 NBA playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2002-03 NBA season. This postseason was notable for being the first time all series were conducted in a best-of-7 format. It was also the only time in playoff history that no team was swept in a first-round series....
|-
| align="left" |SAC
| align="left" |
|82||55||27||.671|| align="center" |2nd in Pacific||12||7||5||.583
| align="center" |Lost in
Conf. SemifinalsThe 2004 NBA Playoffs were the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2003–04 season. Consisting of 16 teams in two conferences, the playoffs involved about two months of play. The playoffs were conducted in seven-game series, with the team with the better record holding home court...
|-
| align="left" |SAC
| align="left" |
|82||50||32||.610|| align="center" |2nd in Pacific||5||1||4||.200
| align="center" |Lost in
First RoundThe 2005 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2004–05 season.The San Antonio Spurs, the number two ranked team in the Western Conference, won the 2005 NBA Playoffs by defeating the defending champions, the Detroit Pistons, 4-3 in the NBA Finals...
|-
| align="left" |SAC
| align="left" |
|82||44||38||.537|| align="center" |4th in Pacific||6||2||4||.333
| align="center" |Lost in
First RoundThe 2006 NBA Playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2005–06 season. The Miami Heat won the first championship in the history of the franchise by defeating the Dallas Mavericks 4-2 in the 2006 NBA Finals...
|-
| align="left" |
HOUThe 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 . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
| align="left" |
|82||55||27||.671|| align="center" |3rd in Southwest||6||2||4||.333
| align="center" |Lost in
First RoundThe 2008 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4–2....
|-
| align="left" |HOU
| align="left" |
|82||53||29||.654|| align="center" |2nd in Southwest||13||7||6||.538
| align="center" |Lost in
Conf. SemifinalsThe 2009 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The playoffs started on April 18, 2009 with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
|-
| align="left" |HOU
| align="left" |
|82||42||40||.512|| align="center" |3rd in Southwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |HOU
| align="left" |
|82||43||39||.524|| align="center" |5th in Southwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" |
Career
| ||1561||945||616||.605|| ||157||79||78||.503
External links