Rick Adelman on the Hall of Fame: ‘I’m excited about it. It’s really neat’

Adelman was captain of the original Blazers in 1970-71 (Courtesy Trail Blazers)

Rick Adelman was at home in Portland last Wednesday when he received the call.

It was his daughter Laura’s birthday. Now there would be two reasons to celebrate.

On the other end of the line was a representative of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

“You’re in,” the caller told Adelman.

“I’m a little surprised,” Adelman told me on Tuesday, three days after his selection to the Hall was announced to the public. “I didn’t expect it. I knew I had been nominated. I didn’t know the criteria for (being selected).”

Adelman was told there are 24 people on the “North American” committee, with a minimum of 18 votes necessary for selection.

“Seems like a lot of college coaches have gotten in, but with the NBA coaches, it takes some time,” Adelman said. “I always thought it would be nice to get in, but never expected it to happen. I’m excited about it. It’s really neat.”

Adelman is one of 16 people who will be enshrined as the 2021 class into the Hall of Fame September 11 in Springfield, Mass. He will be the third head coach of the Trail Blazers inducted, joining Lenny Wilkens and Jack Ramsay.

Six players who wore a Portland uniform have been inducted in previous years, including Wilkens, who was a player-coach in 1974-75. The others are Clyde Drexler, Bill Walton, Scottie Pippen, Arvydas Sabonis and Drazen Petrovic. Neil Johnston, an assistant coach with the Blazers in the ‘70s, gained entry as a player. Also recognized have been team president Harry Glickman (John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award) and broadcaster Bill Schonely (Curt Gowdy Award).

During his five and a half seasons as Portland’s head coach, Adelman posted a regular-season record of 291-154 (.654), the best winning percentage in franchise history. The Blazers reached the playoffs in each of the seasons, advancing to the NBA Finals in 1990 and ’92.

But Adelman’s resume extends far beyond Portland. He amassed a mark of 1,042-749 in 23 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Blazers (1988-94), Golden State (1995-97), Sacramento (1998-2006), Houston (2007-11) and Minnesota (2011-14). Adelman is ninth on the career victory list among NBA coaches, with two 60-win seasons and 11 50-win campaigns.

Adelman guided the Kings to the playoffs eight straight seasons (1999-2006), including a franchise-record 61 wins in 2001-02 and a trip to the 2002 Western Conference finals. His career record there was 395-229.

His star player with the Kings — Chris Webber — will be inducted alongside Adelman in September.

Rick and his wife, Mary Kay, have made Portland home since he began as an assistant coach with the Blazers in 1984. They raised their six children there and now have 12 grandchildren, ages 3 to 20.

The Adelman clan (from left), R.J., Rick, Pat, David, Mary Kay, Kathy, Laura and Caitlin at David’s wedding in 2011 (Courtesy David Adelman)

“That’s the thing that’s best about this,” said Adelman, who turns 75 on June 16. “My kids are excited about it, and so are my grandkids. That’s a neat thing to have happen, that I’m still alive to experience that.”

Three of the Adelman offspring are in the coaching profession. David Adelman is an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets. Kathy Adelman Naro is head girls coach at Beaverton High. Pat Adelman is an assistant coach at Chemeketa Community College.

“My three daughters Face-timed with my parents after my dad learned that he’s in,” Kathy said. “It was an emotional moment. We haven’t seen them very much because of COVID. It was really cool for me as a mom to see my dad receive that honor and watch my daughters celebrate.”

Adelman has a low-key personality, but you don’t get news like this very often. With the Nuggets facing the Blazers at Moda Center on Sunday, David visited with his parents at their home Saturday night.

“He was keeping (his selection) quiet, but you could tell he was excited,” David said. “It was fun to see the emotion inside of him.”

Adelman’s Blazer roots run deep. He is an original Blazer, a starting guard on the first Portland team in 1970-71. His backcourt mate for three seasons in Portland was Geoff Petrie, with whom he worked as a player and coach for 20 years with the Blazers and Kings. Petrie was general manager of the Blazers during most of Adelman’s run as head coach and was the GM who hired him as coach in Sacramento.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Petrie, now retired and living in the Sacramento area. “He should have been in there a long time ago. It’s an incredibly well-deserved award. His record speaks for itself. We had a lot of fun times together as players, and had some great teams while working together in Portland and Sacramento.”

Adelman was an original Blazer, a starting guard with the club from 1970-73 (Courtesy Trail Blazers)

Adelman and Petrie were road roommates for two seasons with the Blazers. They have been friends for nearly 50 years. Petrie served a year as a volunteer assistant for Adelman when he was head coach at Chemeketa in 1983-84.

“We did a lot of stuff socially when we were players — Rick and Larry Steele and me,” Petrie said. “We played a lot of gin rummy together. We played a lot of bad golf together.”

With Petrie in the front office and Adelman as coach with the Blazers and Kings, their teams made the playoffs 13 of 13 seasons.

“It’s amazing the run Geoff and I had together in Portland and Sacramento,” Adelman said. “He was an icon in Sacramento. He’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had.”

Adelman apprenticed under Ramsay for two seasons, then stayed on as an assistant coach under Mike Schuler before taking over the Blazers midway through the 1988-89 campaign.

Adelman sends forward Mark Bryant into a game during the 1991 playoffs (Courtesy Trail Blazers)

“Jack was terrific,” Adelman said. “I remember the day he called me at Chemeketa. I was coaching a racquetball class and they came running out and said, ‘Jack Ramsay is on the phone.’ They were all excited. Next thing I know, Jack picked me to be his assistant. It got the whole thing started. I’m so appreciative of getting the chance to learn under him.”

Adelman was nominated for the Hall of Fame for the first time last year but was not a finalist. His laid-back style and demeanor may have worked against him in that regard.

“He’s not a self-promoter, like the Don Nelsons of the NBA,” Petrie said. “I think his career as a coach was better than Don’s.”

“My dad has always been under the radar, in part because he is a very unassuming person,” Kathy said. “When he was a coach, his personality was tied into his relationship with his players. That’s what mattered to him. Two things meant the most to my dad. Family first; then it was about the guys he was coaching.”

“He’s not an extreme politician,” David said. “It was cool to see someone like him get (selected to the Hall) off the work he put in, the longevity of his career, the respect he had for so long throughout the league. I’m proud of him, and of my mom, too. That’s a career they’ve spent together.”

Rick and Mary Kay have been married 51 years.

“I couldn’t have done it without Mary Kay,” Rick told me. “She is the rock of our family. While I was traveling and coaching, she was home raising six kids in four different cities. Without her, It wouldn’t have been possible. I told our kids, ‘You’re going to have to start calling her Mrs. Hall of Fame.’ ”

Said Kathy: “It’s a co-award. My mom was such an instrumental part in supporting him. This means a lot to her, too.”

Adelman coached many great players, including Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, Chris Mullin, Dikembe Mutombo and Kevin Love. None, however, were greater than Drexler, who was inducted into the Hall in 2004.

“Best coach I ever played for,” Clyde said from his home in Houston. “Rick was a players’ coach who had a great feel for the game and what the players were going through. He had that feel because he was a former player. I’m really happy to have him join me (in the Hall). I’m glad he is being recognized for his great career.”

Drexler’s backcourt mate during his years playing for Adelman was Terry Porter, a two-time All-Star in his own right.

“I’m ecstatic,” Porter said from his Portland home. “Rick is very deserving when you look at his body of work. He made it work at multiple places. That’s the characteristic of a great coach — getting it done with different types of players and different types of teams.

Adelman coaches during the 1991 playoffs. Behind him to his immediate left is broadcasting legend Bill Schonely. At far left at the scorer’s table? That’s The Oregonian’s Kerry Eggers (Courtesy Trail Blazers)

“Rick never veered from who he was. He stayed true to himself. Everybody who has played for him would say that. He had structure but allowed players to be themselves. He allowed guys like Clyde to have their freedom. There was infrastructure, but he didn’t throw you in a box. He evaluated each guys’ strengths and maximized them and minimized their weaknesses.”

Several players who had issues with other coaches — players such as Drexler, Webber, Rod Strickland and Latrell Sprewell — loved playing for Adelman.

“The best players on those teams had their best years playing for him,” Petrie said.

“Every player’s situation on a team is different,” Adelman said. “The superstars conduct themselves in a certain way. You have to deal with that and find a way to reach them — make them believe what you are doing is going to put them in the right position for our team to be successful. But really, you have to do that with each player. I tried to be communicative with them and make them understand I’m there for them.

“I never believed you had to be a hard ass. I tried to be myself. Players are going to see right through that if you’re not yourself.”

David coached under his father for two seasons in Minnesota.

“He had a great understanding of how to get the best out of players — when to pull back and when to push during the ebbs and flows of an NBA season,” David said. “Players responded to that.”

Adelman gives instructions to Danny Ainge during a 1991 game (Courtesy Trail Blazers)

“He’s such an authentic person,” Kathy said. “When he sits down and talks with people, you’ll hear exactly what he thinks. He’s very real. He appreciated the talents of different guys he coached. He used each of their gifts, put them together, and they all felt valued.”

“Rick always put his players first,” Petrie said. “He had a real sense of how to handle players. And he had a tremendous feel for free-flowing offense. The teams we had together were exciting to watch. The guys moved the ball and got it up and down the court.”

While Adelman is proud of his selection, he wants the credit to be shared.

“He doesn’t regard it as an individual award,” David said. “It’s a way to look back at the total experience, all the guys he worked with. It’s recognition for being really good at your job, with an understanding he was lucky enough to be around great people.”

“I’ve been fortunate,” Rick said. “You gotta have talent. Good players make you look good. I had a chance to coach some really good players. I had some tremendous people around me. That whole Portland team we had was terrific guys. It’s sad to me we’ve lost so many from that team. What a great group of guys. The fans identified with them. I’m just thankful I was a part of that.

“I think about the people who helped me along the way. (Former Blazers owner) Paul Allen gave me a chance. Harry Glickman had a lot to do with this. There are so many others who were key to my success. I was with Portland 12 years (as a player and coach). We raised our kids here. I was in Sacramento for eight years. To be in two places that long … it doesn’t happen very often in our league.”

Rick chats with Blazer owner Paul Allen (left) and team vice chairman Bert Kolde before a game in 1990 (Courtesy Trail Blazers)

Adelman didn’t often give his offspring coaching advice.

“Only if I asked,” David said. “He wanted us to have our own experiences to do things we believed in. But if you ever reached out to him, he would pick up the phone, calm you down and walk you through it. He was as good a sounding board as you can ever find.”

“I remember him telling me that some coaches over-talk,” Kathy said. “He said, ‘When you do talk, what you’re saying needs to matter.’ I learned from him that you need to choose your times when you talk to a player.”

Adelman’s phone has been busy since the news broke of his impending enshrinement.

“I’ve heard from a lot of people I’ve worked with over the years, including a few players,” he said. “It’s been nice to hear from people you hadn’t thought about for awhile. Everybody has been so locked up with the coronavirus.

“Mary Kay and I have locked ourselves in pretty much the past year. We didn’t get to see our grandkids much. Saw our kids only a little. We kept busy watching David’s games. We’d have been driven crazy without that. We’re looking forward to getting out and living a normal life.”

Adelman’s life has been difficult through the past year. He has type 2 diabetes, but the bigger problem has been with dehydration that affected his strength and balance. He was hospitalized for about a week and then spent about four months in a rehab center.

“I had a rough stretch,” he said. “I was really down and out for five or six months. When you can’t move around, your system shuts down. I lost so much strength. I was not able to walk or do a lot of things.

“It took me a few months to where I felt better. I feel OK now. I’m making my comeback and getting around a little better. Hopefully, I can get out and do more things. I don’t climb a lot of ladders, but my balance is pretty good now.”

Adelman watched the television production of last Saturday’s enshrinement of the Hall of Fame class of 2020.

“I wanted to see how the other guys do it,” he said. “I may need to get some help with my speech. I get too emotional.”

Rick (second from left on bench) behind Blazer head coach Mike Schuler in 1986 (Courtesy Trail Blazers)

One person is confident Adelman will be up to to the challenge.

“He’s going to handle things just fine,” Schonely said. “I’m excited for Rick. The guy did a phenomenal job when he was here as a coach. He had an exceptional career. He should be there, and now he’s going to be there. I’m very proud of him.”

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