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Chuck Daly
Chuck Daly (cropped).jpg
Daly in 2006
Personal information
Born (1930-07-20)July 20, 1930
Kane, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died May 9, 2009(2009-05-09) (aged 78)
Jupiter, Florida, U.S.
High school Kane (Kane, Pennsylvania)
Listed height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight 180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
College Bloomsburg (1950–1952)
Coaching career 1955–1999
Career history
As coach:
1955–1963 Punxsutawney HS
1963–1969 Duke (assistant)
1969–1971 Boston College
1971–1977 Penn
1978–1981 Philadelphia 76ers (assistant)
1981–1982 Cleveland Cavaliers
1983–1992 Detroit Pistons
1992–1994 New Jersey Nets
1997–1999 Orlando Magic
Career highlights and awards
As head coach:
  • NBA champion (1989, 1990)
  • NBA All-Star Game head coach (1990)
  • Top 10 Coaches in NBA History
  • Top 15 Coaches in NBA History
  • No. 2 retired by Detroit Pistons
  • 4× Ivy League champion (1971–1974)
  • 5× Big 5 champion (1971–1974, 1977)

As assistant coach:

  • 3× NCAA final Four Appearances (1963, 1964, 1966)
  • ACC Tournament champion (1963, 1964, 1966)
  • ACC Regular Season champion (1963–1966)
Medals
Head Coach for  United States
Olympic Games
Gold 1992 Barcelona Head coach

Charles Jerome Daly (July 20, 1930 – May 9, 2009) was an American basketball head coach. He led the Detroit Pistons to two consecutive National Basketball Association (NBA) championships in 1989 and 1990—during the team's "Bad Boys" era—and the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team ("The Dream Team") to the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Daly is a two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, being inducted in 1994 for his individual coaching career, and in 2010 was posthumously inducted as the head coach of the "Dream Team". The Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award is named after him.

Early life

Born in Kane, Pennsylvania, to Earl and Geraldine Daly on July 20, 1930, Daly attended Kane Area High School. He matriculated at St. Bonaventure University for one year before transferring to Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in 1952. After serving two years in the military, he began his basketball coaching career in 1955 at Punxsutawney Area High School in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

College career

After compiling a 111–70 record in eight seasons at Punxsutawney High School, Daly moved on to the college level in 1963 as an assistant coach under Vic Bubas at Duke University. During his six seasons at Duke, the Blue Devils won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and advanced to the Final Four, both in 1964 and 1966. Daly then replaced Bob Cousy as head coach at Boston College in 1969. The Eagles recorded an 11–13 record in Daly's first year at the school, and improved to 15–11 in 1971.

Daly became the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971, succeeding Dick Harter. Penn won 20 or more games and captured the Ivy League title in each of its first four seasons with Daly at the helm. The most successful campaign was his first in 1972, when the Quakers recorded a 25–3 record overall (13–1 in their conference), and advanced to the NCAA East Regional Final, eventually losing to North Carolina. An additional significant success for Daly was in 1979, when all five starters on Pennsylvania's Final Four team had initially been recruited by Daly. His overall record after six seasons at Penn was 125–38 (74–10 within the Ivy League).

NBA and national team career

In 1978, Daly joined the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers as an assistant coach. During the 1981 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers hired him as the third head coach that season, but he was fired with a 9–32 record before the season ended. He then returned to the 76ers as a broadcaster until he was hired in 1983 by the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons, a franchise that had not recorded back-to-back winning seasons since the mid-1950s, made the NBA playoffs each year Daly was head coach (1983–1992), and reached the NBA finals three times, winning two consecutive NBA championships in 1989 and 1990. While serving as the Pistons coach, Daly was also a color commentator for TBS's NBA Playoff coverage.

Daly was named head coach of the U.S. Dream Team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics, before moving his NBA career onto the New Jersey Nets for the 1992–93 season. Daly stayed with the Nets for two seasons, before resigning over frustration over the immaturity of some of the players on his team.

Daly again took up a role as color commentator for TNT's NBA coverage during the mid-1990s. Daly rejected an offer to coach the New York Knicks over the summer of 1995 after deciding he was not ready for the NBA coaching grind. He would return to coaching with the Orlando Magic at the beginning of the 1997–98 season. Daly stayed two seasons with the Magic and then retired permanently.

Death

Daly was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2009 and died on May 9, 2009, at the age of 78. He is buried at Riverside Memorial Park in Tequesta, Florida.

Head coaching record

College

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Boston College Eagles (NCAA University Division independent) (1969–1971)
1969–70 Boston College 11–13
1970–71 Boston College 15–11
Boston College: 26–24
Penn Quakers (Ivy League) (1971–1977)
1971–72 Penn 25–3 13–1 1st NCAA University Division Third Round
1972–73 Penn 21–7 12–2 1st NCAA University Division Third Round
1973–74 Penn 21–6 13–1 1st NCAA Division I First Round
1974–75 Penn 23–5 13–1 1st NCAA Division I First Round
1975–76 Penn 17–9 11–3 2nd
1976–77 Penn 18–8 12–2 2nd
Penn: 125–38 74–10
Total: 151–62

      National champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference tournament champion
      Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference division champion

NBA

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
Cleveland 1981–82 41 9 32 .220 (fired)
Detroit 1983–84 82 49 33 .598 2nd in Central 5 2 3 .400 Lost in first round
Detroit 1984–85 82 46 36 .561 2nd in Central 9 5 4 .556 Lost in Conference semifinals
Detroit 1985–86 82 46 36 .561 3rd in Central 4 1 3 .250 Lost in first round
Detroit 1986–87 82 52 30 .634 2nd in Central 15 10 5 .667 Lost in Conference finals
Detroit 1987–88 82 54 28 .659 1st in Central 23 14 9 .609 Lost in NBA Finals
Detroit 1988–89 82 63 19 .768 1st in Central 17 15 2 .882 Won NBA Championship
Detroit 1989–90 82 59 23 .720 1st in Central 20 15 5 .750 Won NBA Championship
Detroit 1990–91 82 50 32 .610 2nd in Central 15 7 8 .467 Lost in Conference finals
Detroit 1991–92 82 48 34 .585 3rd in Central 5 2 3 .400 Lost in first round
New Jersey 1992–93 82 43 39 .524 3rd in Atlantic 5 2 3 .400 Lost in first round
New Jersey 1993–94 82 45 37 .549 3rd in Atlantic 4 1 3 .250 Lost in first round
Orlando 1997–98 82 41 41 .500 5th in Atlantic Missed playoffs
Orlando 1998–99 50 33 17 .660 1st in Atlantic 4 1 3 .250 Lost in first round
Career 1,075 638 437 .593 126 75 51 .595

See also

  • Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
  • List of FIBA AmeriCup winning head coaches
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