Rick Adelman, one of the 10 winningest coaches in NBA history and a 2021 inductee into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, has died, the National Basketball Coaches Association announced on Monday.

Adelman, also the father of current Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman, was 79 years old. No cause of death was announced.

Across 23 seasons, Adelman won 1,042 games as an NBA head coach, the 10th most all-time. His 79 postseason wins rank No. 14 on the NBA’s career leaderboard.

Adelman played seven seasons as a point guard in the NBA, with his best seasons being with the expansion Portland Trail Blazers from 1970-73, when he averaged 9.8 points and 4.6 assists.

After his playing career, Adelman spent six seasons as an assistant coach for the Trail Blazers, learning under Jack Ramsay and Mike Schuler.

In February 1989, Portland fired Schuler and promoted Adelman to head coach.

In his first three full seasons as the Blazers’ head coach, Adelman guided those Clyde Drexler-led Blazers teams to two NBA Finals appearances, losing in 1990 to the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons and in 1992 to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.

“Rick was one of the most influential figures in franchise history, a member of the inaugural 1970 team and integral coach throughout the 80s and 90s, guiding the team to Finals appearances in 1990 and 1992,” the Trail Blazers said in a statement. “Rick's basketball brilliance helped shape multiple eras of Trail Blazers basketball, earning the respect and admiration of the basketball community and cementing his legacy.

“His thoughtful leadership, integrity, and kindness impacted all those around him on and off the court.”

After a two-season stint with the Golden State Warriors, Adelman took the helm of a blossoming Sacramento Kings team in 1998.

The 2001-02 Kings finished 61-21 and famously provided the biggest challenge to the Los Angeles Lakers during their championship three-peat, taking Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s squad to a Game 7 in the Western Conference finals.

The Kings made the playoffs in all eight seasons of Adelman's Sacramento tenure. The franchise has played in just one playoff series since firing him in 2006. 

Adelman led the Houston Rockets from 2007-11, coaching greats like Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Shane Battier. He finished his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves, helping Kevin Love to develop into an All-Star.

Adelman never won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award, but he finished either second or third in voting five times.

Adelman leaves a legacy as one of the fathers of the modern NBA. From being a player before the ABA merger to coaching against the Miami Heat trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Adelman’s career in pro basketball saw the NBA grow exponentially and his tenure spanned every superstar, dynasty and stylistic change in the game’s modern era.