Piston’s Coach Chuck Daly Dies Of Cancer At 78 (Photos)

Chuck Daly, who coached the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back NBA titles, died on Saturday of pancreatic cancer at the age of 78.  Read more about Chuck Daly’s life and death below.

Chuck Daly was diagnosed with cancer in March, and died Saturday surrounded by his family in Floria.

The Piston’s team announced in March the Hall of Fame coach was being treated for pancreatic cancer.

Daly was known for being able to work with players with all different personalities.

“It’s a players’ league. They allow you to coach them or they don’t,” Daly once said. “Once they stop allowing you to coach, you’re on your way out.”

Chuck Daly was voted one of the 10 greatest coaches  of the NBA in 1996, two years after he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the first coach to win both NBA and Olympic titles.

Daly had a career regular-season record of 638-437 in 13 NBA seasons. In 12 playoff appearances, his teams went 75-51. He left Detroit as the Pistons’ leader in regular-season and playoff victories.

NBA commissioner David Stern said the “void left by his death will never be filled.”

“Chuck did much more than coach basketball games,” he said in a statement. “He positively impacted everyone he met, both personally and professionally, and his love of people and the game of basketball helped develop the next generation of coaches.”

Daly had a golden touch at the Barcelona Games with the likes of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Jordan and Barkley, using a different lineup every game.

“Chuck did a good job of keeping us together,” Bird said. “It wasn’t about who scored the most points. It was about one thing: winning the gold medal.”

Daly also made the right moves for the Pistons, who were notorious for their physical play with Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn leading the fight, Rodman making headlines and Hall of Fame guards Isiah Thomas and Dumars lifting the team to titles in 1989 and 1990.

“He did an unbelievable job of taking a bunch of different personalities and molding them into a team,” Mahorn said.

Added Barkley: “I never understood how a great man, a nice guy coached the Bad Boys.”

Our condolences to Chuck Daly’s family and friends.

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Posted by: Monya

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