Rumors

Nelson, you see, is the 2025 winner of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award presented annually by the National Basketball Coaches Association, league sources say. NBCA president Rick Carlisle comes to the NBA Finals every year to hand-deliver the award to its honoree before Game 2 ... but he'll have to do so this time while coaching Haliburton and the Pacers in the Finals. "I think it's one of the best honors I ever had," Nelson said this week upon returning from his Hawaii residence to the mainland. "I'm very proud to get it. "I haven't had shoes on for six years. And I haven't been on a plane for about seven. But I figured that this would be something I should probably be there for."

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Surely you haven't forgotten the highly fortuitous l-o-n-g two that Haliburton drained to force overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden … his stepback hoist at the regulation buzzer that bounced straight up into the air off the back of the rim before dropping straight back through. It was the NBA's modern-day homage to Don Nelson. "I thought for sure the announcers would say something about it because it was very similar," Nelson told me the other day, reflecting on the decisive Game 7 shot he sank in the 1969 NBA Finals. "But they didn't mention it. It was kind of funny to me because that's the first thing I thought about. "His shot was a lot longer and it went way higher than mine though," Nelson added with a laugh.

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“If your desire in life is to lead and to teach, NBA head coaching is the ultimate crucible,” Carlisle said to The Athletic Sunday night in his office ab0ut 25 minutes after his Pacers had dropped 80 points on Cleveland in an exquisite first half and won Game 4 of the series, shredding the Cavs’ 3-2 zone that had flummoxed the Pacers just 48 hours earlier. “Everything is at such a high level,” Carlisle said. “It’s such a fever pitch. You’ve got to learn from a lot of mistakes that you make, and you’ve got to try to learn from watching other coaches who do it well. Watching guys like (Gregg) Popovich, Phil Jackson and (Pat) Riley. I worked for Chuck Daly for two years. I worked for Bill Fitch for three years. These guys were all best of the best, Hall of Famers.

New York Times

Jonathan Feigen: The NBA Coaches Association just announced that Rudy Tomjanovich is the recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award. nbacoaches.com/rudy-tomjanovi… ICYMI, our story this morning about why Tomjanovich was so worthy, and how much the award means to him. houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-n…

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Omari Sanfoka II: Pistons unveil their new Bad Boys-inspired City Edition jerseys for 2023-24. There are skull and cross bone touches honoring the Bad Boys logo, and a “CD2” logo on the jock tag honoring Chuck Daly. There’s also a new court. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/W8QgtbHM3r

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Chuck Daly, Nate McMillan, P.J. Carlesimo, Bill Fitch and Bobby Cremins are among the coaches who have informed Anderson’s path to the profession. Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse is a friend who invites Anderson to his practices. He’s still trying to find the right formula at this level, a quest made more difficult by his strokes. “He’s consumed by (coaching), but he absolutely loves it,” Natasha said. “He’s been through a lot, but you can see he’s making progress,” said Cremins, who started recruiting Anderson to Georgia Tech as a high school freshman and who has been to Fisk to consult and help him raise funds. “I think his faith brought him to Fisk more than anything. He wants to win, and that’s hard. He’s got to find some sleepers, and he’s got to teach them to play. But I’ve seen what he means to those kids.”

The Athletic

Vincent Goodwill: Mike Fratello, winner of the Chuck Daly lifetime achievement award, calls for coaches to go back to wearing suits on the sideline. Says Daly said: “Let’s separate ourselves” from coaches in other spots

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Former Cavaliers coach Mike Fratello was named the 2022 recipient of the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Basketball Coaches Association, it was announced Sunday. Fratello, 75, was hired by the Cavs in 1993 and spent six seasons in Cleveland, compiling a 248-212 record with four playoff appearances.

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“Chuck Daly was a special man and a special coach — and this is a special award,” Fratello said in a statement. “It means so much to me because Chuck was a mentor, a close friend, and a trusted confidant during my NBA coaching career and beyond. It is an honor to be recognized by my peers, whom I respect and admire. I am proud to join the ranks of the previous recipients — all exceptional coaches and extraordinary individuals. “I am forever grateful.”

Akron Beacon Journal

Tim Reynolds: Mike Fratello is the winner of this year's Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the National Basketball Coaches Association. It'll be formally presented before Game 2 of the NBA Finals later today.

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In discussing his storied playing career, the hosts ask Barkley about his time with the “Dream Team” at the 1992 Olympics. Specifically, how he reacted to coach Chuck Daly telling him that he was the second-best player on the team, behind Michael Jordan. “I said, ‘I agree with you, but I’m going to put an end to that shit next year’,” said Barkley, referring to his run with the Phoenix Suns. “I said, ‘we’re playing them in the finals and I’m going to bring it.’ When I got to Phoenix, I told them on the first day that we’re going to the finals and that I’m sick of everyone telling me that he’s better than me…We got there and they beat us. That was the first time I ever said in my life that there was someone who was better than me at basketball. In my whole life. I had Manute Bol and Shelton Jones, so I thought that those guys weren’t better than me, they just had more help.”

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NBA PR: The NBA today unveiled the 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History as part of the continuing celebration of the league’s 75th Anniversary Season. The list was selected by a panel of 43 current & former NBA head coaches in collaboration with the National Basketball Coaches Association.

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And that suits can mean so much to men. The champagne-soaked suit Carlisle wore when the Mavericks won the 2011 championship remained in his closet until eight years later, when he dusted it off to wear again at a street naming ceremony in honor of Dirk Nowitzki. But there’s no reason to preserve the black quarter-zip pullover that Mike Budenholzer wore during the Milwaukee Bucks’ 2021 title celebration. He could bust that out anytime — for a January game in Charlotte, a quick run to Home Depot, wherever. But Carlisle, God bless him. He may back up his peers who prefer play clothes, but the biggest mentor in his life, besides his father, was Daly. Carlisle still has love for suits. “Deep down because of my relationship with Chuck and the traditional aspect of the game,” he said, “I’m a suits guy.”

Washington Post

Rod Beard: #Pistons Cade Cunningham thanks the Daly family for letting him wear No. 2 -- which is retired for coach Chuck Daly.

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