Age: 78
Popularity: 
Biography
As player:
- 2× NBA champion (1969, 1974)
- 5× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1972-1975, 1977)
As coach:
- NBA Coach of the Year (1991)
Donald Ray Chaney (born March 22, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, most notable for his long stints as a player on the Boston Celtics.
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Career as a player
Chaney played basketball in college for the University of Houston, where he was a teammate of future Basketball Hall-of-Famer Elvin Hayes. Chaney played all 40 minutes of the famed "Game of the Century" at the Astrodome. That year Chaney became the first-round pick (12th overall) of the Boston Celtics in the 1968 NBA Draft; he was also drafted by the Houston Mavericks of the American Basketball Association.
Don became a 1969 NBA Finals champion with the Boston Celtics during his rookie year. He would also help the Celtics toward winning the 1974 NBA Finals. He had two stints with the Boston Celtics (1968-1975, and 1977-1980), for which he is most notable. He also had a short two season stint with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1976-1978, and also played in the ABA for one year with the Spirits of St. Louis from 1975-1976. Chaney was mostly known for his defensive skills, providing adequate numbers in minutes off the bench.
Chaney is the only Boston Celtic who played with both Bill Russell (1956-1969) and Larry Bird (1979-1992).
Career as a coach
22 seasons as a coach (12 as NBA head coach):
- Los Angeles Clippers, (1984-85 through 1986-87)
- Houston Rockets, (1988-89 through 1991-92)
- Detroit Pistons, (1993-94 through 1994-95)
- New York Knicks, (2001-02 through 2003-04)
Awards
- 1969 NBA Finals and 1974 NBA Finals champion
- NBA All-Defensive second team (1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1977)
- NBA Coach of the Year Award with the Houston Rockets for the 1990-91 season, after leading the Houston Rockets to a 50-32 record.
- Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (1991)
- Gold medal-winning US national team at the 1994 FIBA World Championship in Toronto, assistant coach
Head coaching record
| Legend | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W-L % | Win-loss % | |
| Post season | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW-L % | Playoff win-loss % | |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W-L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW-L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L.A. Clippers | 1984-85 | 21 | 9 | 12 | .429 | 5th in Pacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| L.A. Clippers | 1985-86 | 82 | 32 | 50 | .390 | 4th in Pacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| L.A. Clippers | 1986-87 | 82 | 12 | 70 | .146 | 6th in Pacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Houston | 1988-89 | 82 | 45 | 37 | .549 | 2nd in Midwest | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost in First Round |
| Houston | 1989-90 | 82 | 41 | 41 | .500 | 5th in Midwest | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | Lost in First Round |
| Houston | 1990-91 | 82 | 52 | 30 | .634 | 3rd in Midwest | 3 | 0 | 3 | .250 | Lost in First Round |
| Houston | 1991-92 | 52 | 26 | 26 | .500 | (fired) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Detroit | 1993-94 | 82 | 20 | 62 | .244 | 7th in Central | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Detroit | 1994-95 | 82 | 28 | 54 | .341 | 7th in Central | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| New York | 2001-02 | 63 | 20 | 43 | .317 | 7th in Atlantic | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| New York | 2002-03 | 82 | 37 | 45 | .451 | 6th in Atlantic | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| New York | 2003-04 | 39 | 15 | 24 | .385 | (fired) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 831 | 337 | 494 | .406 | 11 | 2 | 9 | .182 |
[ Source: Wikipedia ]
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