Bringin' down the House

Bringin’ down the House

Good bye to a legend


By now we have all heard the sad news that former Detroit Pistons and Dream Team coach Chuck Daly passed away early Saturday morning after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Daly was 79.
No other coach has had such an impact on the NBA in such a short span of time then Daly. Though Daly coached for only 14 seasons but in those 14 he only had one losing season, and that was in Cleveland his first season at the helm. He left Cleveland after that one season and went west to Detroit and the rest is they say history.
From 1983 to 1992 he was the architect of the “Bad Boys”. The name was derived from the style of play that the Piston employed. Rough, tough, and in your face nasty. No other team in NBA history before or after has played with the toughness and ferocity of the “Bad Boy” Pistons. In the 80’s and 90’s the NBA was a more physical league and no team would beat you up like the Detroit. Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Dennis Rodman, Joe Dumars, Isaiah Thomas and Co. would literally turn the game into a fight and you better bring your mouth piece because from buzzer to buzzer you would be in a brawl on the court. He gained the reputation of having the ability to have control many egos and get them to mesh together for the good of the team.
Daly five times won 50 or more games in a season and won back-to-back NBA crowns in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons. In the 88-89 season they lost only two total games on their way to the first title in franchise history. He left Detroit after the 1991-92 season and took the head coaching job of the New Jersey Nets. He coached there for two seasons before retiring. He returned to the bench in 1997, this time for the Orlando Magic. He coached the Magic for two seasons before retiring for good after the 1998-99 season. Daly finished his professional coaching career with a record of 638-437. His playoff record was 76-51.
Daly got the honor of coaching the Dream Team in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic games. Daly was selected because of his unique ability to manage egos, (and the Dream Team was loaded with them) and for being the best coach at that time in the league. Daly control the team and with him at the helm the Dream Team would coast to the gold medal. Daly is the only coach in NBA history who has won an NBA title and a gold medal.
As much as Daly was defined by his coaching ability he was also defined by his always dapper appearance. Bad Boy John Salley gave him the nickname “Daddy Rich” because he always looked like a million bucks. Daly was always dressed to the nines and Charles Barkley said “if I had as much money as he spent on clothes I’d be doing alright”.
The National Basketball Association family has lost a great person. Daly was great for the game on and off the court. From myself and the rest of the OTFS staff I want to give our condolences to the Daly family. Daly is gone but the game he helped cultivate is thriving and he had a huge hand in it.
Thank you, Jared House