Rick Adelman became the 11th head coach in Rockets history on May 23, 2007, returning to the bench after a season away from the NBA. In his two seasons with the Rockets, Adelman’s winning percentage of .659 (108-56) stands as the highest in franchise history. Overall, Adelman owns a career record of 860-537 (.616) in 18 NBA seasons as a head coach with the Portland Trail Blazers (1988-94), Golden State Warriors (1995-97), Sacramento Kings (1998-2006) and Houston Rockets (2007-09). He has recorded the sixth most wins among active NBA coaches behind Don Nelson (Golden State), Jerry Sloan (
Known around the league as a basketball teacher with an ability to mold a team’s style of play around the strengths of his players, Adelman’s coaching highlights include a pair of NBA Finals appearances (1990 and 1992 with Portland), four trips to the Western Conference Finals (1990-92 with Portland and 2002 with Sacramento) and four division titles (1990-91 and 1991-92 with Portland; 2001-02 and 2002-03 with Sacramento). Adelman has been runner-up for NBA Coach of the Year honors four times (1990-91 with Portland; 2000-01 and 2001-02 with Sacramento; 2008-09 with Houston). He has also coached the West Team in the NBA All-Star Game on three separate occasions (1991 with Portland; 2001 and 2003 with Sacramento). Overall, Adelman has been named NBA Coach of the Month seven times over his career (three with Portland, two with Sacramento and two with Houston).
Adelman’s trademark offenses have finished among the top five in the NBA in scoring on 12 occasions over his head coaching career. He has had three additional teams rank in the top-
In his second season with Houston, Adelman guided the 2008-09 Rockets to a 53-29 (.646) mark, which gave Houston a third consecutive 50-win season for the first time in club annals (52-
During the 2008-09 campaign, Adelman surpassed Cotton Fitzsimmons (832) for 12th on the NBA’s all-time list for regular season coaching wins with a 115-113 victory vs. Denver (1/19/09). He earned his 100th victory as Rockets head coach in a 106-101 double-overtime win vs. Detroit (3/18/09). Adelman was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for Mar. 2009, guiding the Rockets to the best winning percentage in the West during that month (.733, 11-4 record). It marked his second time to earn Western Conference Coach of the Month with Houston (Feb. 2008), joining Rudy Tomjanovich (three times) and Don Chaney (two times) as the only Rockets coaches to win this award multiple times. Adelman also moved ahead of Chuck Daly (75) and Nelson (75) into ninth on the NBA’s all-time list for postseason coaching wins, guiding the Rockets to a 7-6 (.538) finish in his second postseason with Houston. The Rockets recorded a 92-76 win in Game Six vs. Portland (4/30/09) to take their First Round series 4-2, which marked Houston’s first series win since the 1997 NBA Playoffs. Adelman and company then took the L.A. Lakers to a Game Seven despite playing without Tracy McGrady and losing the services of Yao Ming for the final four contests of that series.
In his first campaign, Adelman led the 2007-08 Rockets to a 55-27 (.671) record to match the third-best win total in franchise history. Adelman also became the 13th head coach in NBA annals to notch 800 career victories with Houston’s 108-100 win vs. Sacramento (3/24/08). His 2007-08 squad was the first in club chronicles to record three consecutive months of double-digit win totals (10-4 Jan., 13-0 Feb. and 11-4 Mar.).
Houston actually captured 22 victories in a row (1/29/08-3/16/08) during the 2007-08 campaign, which stands as the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. The 22-game run by the Rockets marked the second time Adelman has guided a team to at least 16 consecutive victories. His Trail Blazers also took 16 straight back in 1990-91 (3/20/91-4/19/91). During this historic streak, the Rockets equaled the all-time league record for consecutive wins by a double-digit margin (10 from 2/21/08-3/10/08), including eight straight victories by 12 or more points (2/21/08-3/6/08). Adelman’s Rockets finished 13-
While transitioning his team to a new offensive scheme, the Rockets continued to rely on their core strength of defense in 2007-08. Houston ranked fourth in the NBA in points allowed per game (92.0) and second in field goal percentage defense (.433). The Rockets also finished first in the NBA in total rebounds per game (44.6).
Prior to joining the Rockets, Adelman recorded a 395-229 (.633) record in eight seasons as head coach of the Kings. He guided Sacramento to playoff appearances in each of his eight campaigns, compiling a 34-35 (.493) mark in the postseason. Sacramento won 50 or more games in five consecutive seasons (2000-01 through 2004-05) under his leadership, including back-to-back Pacific Division titles in 2001-02 and 2002-03. Adelman became the winningest coach in Kings franchise history with a 94-92 victory at
Adelman signed on as the 19th head coach of the Kings on Sept. 17, 1998, inheriting a team that had won only 27 games in 1997-98. The Kings went on to finish with a record above
While in Sacramento, Adelman turned the Kings into the highest scoring team in the league by going from an average of 93.1 points per game in 1997-98 to an average of 100.2 points in 1998-99, despite the league average dipping from 95.6 points per outing to 91.6 over the same span. Sacramento continued to increase its scoring to a league-best 105.0 points per game in 1999-2000. Overall, the Kings topped the NBA in scoring for three straight seasons (1998-99 through 2000-01). Sacramento had its streak snapped by finishing second in the league in scoring in 2001-02 (104.6), but still advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
In his first season with the Warriors in 1995-96, Adelman’s influence helped Golden State reduce its points allowed from 111.1 per game to 103.1, which marked the fewest for the franchise in 20 years. In addition, the 1995-96 Warriors outrebounded their opponents (3,458-3,406) for only the second time in 14 seasons. Adelman also reached the career 300-win mark in just 468 games, which at the time was the seventh fastest in NBA history. His 1996-97 Golden State team also improved from 13th to ninth in the NBA in scoring.
Adelman joined Portland’s staff in 1983 under Jack Ramsay and served as an assistant coach until Feb. 18, 1989, replacing Mike Schuler as head coach. In nearly six seasons at the helm of the Trail Blazers, Adelman racked up a record of 291-154 (.654) in the regular season and a 36-33 (.522) mark in the postseason. He twice coached the Trail Blazers into the NBA Finals, qualifying Portland for the playoffs in all six of his seasons. He also led the Trail Blazers to four consecutive 50-plus win campaigns. Adelman still ranks as the second winningest coach in franchise history behind Ramsay.
In his first full season as head coach in 1989-90, Adelman guided the Trail Blazers to a 59-23 record and a trip to the NBA Finals. The following season, Portland won the Pacific Division title behind a league-best mark of 63-19, advancing to the 1991 Western Conference Finals. In 1991-92, the Trail Blazers captured their second straight Pacific Division crown with a 57-25 record and went to the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons. Adelman recorded his 200th victory in just the 288th game of his career in a 115-90 win vs. Detroit (11/22/92). At the time, no coach in league history had reached the 200-win plateau in fewer games.
Adelman began his coaching career at Chemeketa Community College in Salem,
As a player, Adelman spent seven seasons in the NBA with the San Diego Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Jazz and Kansas City-Omaha Kings. Selected by the Rockets in the seventh round (79th overall) of the 1968 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-2 guard averaged 6.7 points, 3.1 assists and 2.7 rebounds in two seasons as a reserve in San Diego. Adelman was taken by Portland in the 1970 NBA Expansion Draft and was made the first team captain in Trail Blazers history. Adelman actually got his first taste of coaching experience during the 1970-71 NBA season when he led Portland to a victory after coach Rolland Todd was ejected from the game. Traded by the Trail Blazers to the Bulls prior to the 1973-74 campaign, Adelman was again dealt to the Jazz early in the 1974-75 season. Looking for veteran leadership in their run to the 1975 NBA Playoffs, the Kings made a late-season acquisition to obtain Adelman. He retired in 1975 with career averages of 7.7 points, 3.5 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 462 regular season games.
Adelman began his playing career at St. Pius X High School in Downey,
A native of Lynwood,