Hall of Famer Bill Fitch, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year and a champion with Boston in 1981 as Larry Bird’s first professional coach, has died at 89 years old. Longtime NBA writer Marc Stein, who said Fitch passed away peacefully with family, broke the news late Wednesday.
Fitch is the second-longest-tenured head coach in Rockets history, having coached the franchise for five seasons from 1983 until 1988. In those years, Fitch’s teams went 216-194 (.527), and he led Houston to the 1986 NBA Finals after winning the Western Conference. Fitch was also the first professional coach for Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon.
Fitch ranks third in all-time wins with the Rockets, trailing only Mike D’Antoni (217) and fellow Hall of Famer Rudy Tomjanovich (503) in regular-season victories. His 21 wins in the NBA playoffs are third in franchise history, as well, behind D’Antoni (28) and Tomjanovich (51).
Fitch entered the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019 and was named a top-10 coach during the league’s 50th anniversary season of 1996-97. In nearly 30 years as an NBA head coach from 1970 until 1998, Fitch led the Rockets, Celtics (1979-83), Cleveland Cavaliers (1970-79), New Jersey Nets (1989-92), and Los Angeles Clippers (1994-98).
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