SACRAMENTO — Rick Adelman died on Monday at the age of 79. The National Basketball Coaches Association announced his death, though specifics of his passing are not yet known.

Adelman played in the NBA for seven seasons, beginning with the San Diego Rockets in 1968 and retiring after the 1974–75 season. Over his playing career, he averaged 7.7 points and 3.5 assists per game and played for the San Diego Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Jazz, and Kansas City-Omaha Kings.

Adelman transitioned to coaching in 1983, joining the Portland Trail Blazers as an assistant coach. He was promoted to head coach in 1988 and led the team to the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992, losing to the Detroit Pistons and the Chicago Bulls, respectively.

After two seasons as head coach of the Golden State Warriors, Adelman became head coach of the Sacramento Kings in 1998. He guided the Kings to the playoffs in each of his eight seasons with the team, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2002, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games. The Kings have reached the postseason only once since Adelman departed following the 2005–06 season.

“The Sacramento Kings are deeply saddened by the passing of former Head Coach Rick Adelman. Coach Adelman represented the very best of Sacramento basketball, and he will be remembered for the way he inspired those around him — with humility, integrity, kindness, and an unwavering belief in the power of teamwork,” the team said in a statement.

After leaving Sacramento, Adelman coached the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves for seven seasons before retiring in 2014. He finished his 29-year NBA coaching career—23 of them as a head coach—with a 1,042–749 record.

Adelman is ranked No. 10 on the NBA’s all-time wins list and is one of only 11 coaches in league history to surpass 1,000 career victories. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2021 and received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Basketball Coaches Association in 2023.

Adelman had six children with his wife, Mary Kay. His son, David Adelman, is the current head coach of the Denver Nuggets.