Why he should be inducted:
2-time NBA Champion (1984, 1986)
Took 2 different teams (Boston and Washington) to the finals.
Appeared in the finals 5 times in 10 years of NBA coaching (1975, 1984, 1985,
1986, 1987).
Made the playoffs in each of the 9 full seasons he coached in the NBA.
Won over 2/3 of the games in his NBA career
Never had a losing season in 10 coaching seasons.
Stats:
Reg Season Playoffs Season Tm Lg W L Win% W L Win% +-----------------+-----+----+-----+----+---+-----+ 1972-73 SDA ABA 30 54 .357 0 4 .000 1973-74 CAP NBA 47 35 .573 3 4 .429 1974-75 WSB NBA 60 22 .732 8 9 .471 1975-76 WSB NBA 48 34 .585 3 4 .429 1983-84 BOS NBA 62 20 .756 15 8 .652 1984-85 BOS NBA 63 19 .768 13 8 .619 1985-86 BOS NBA 67 15 .817 15 3 .833 1986-87 BOS NBA 59 23 .720 13 10 .565 1987-88 BOS NBA 57 25 .695 9 8 .529 1990-91 SEA NBA 41 41 .500 2 3 .400 1991-92 SEA NBA 18 18 .500 +-----------------+-----+----+-----+----+---+-----+ 1 Season ABA 30 54 .357 0 4 .000 10 Seasons NBA 522 252 .674 81 57 .587 +-----------------+-----+----+-----+----+---+-----+ 11 Seasons 552 306 .643 81 61 .570 +-----------------+-----+----+-----+----+---+-----+
Stats from http://www.basketball-reference.com/
Comment:
Some may argue with this. Yes, he did coach great players, but that does not guarantee a championship (Del Harris and Butch Van Breda Kolff in Los Angeles or Matt Guokas in Philadelphia). He beat a great Laker team in 1984 to win the championship. The 1986 Celtics team is regarded as one of the greatest ever. The fact is, no team ever won a title without talent, so that is no excuse to keep him out. His record speaks for itself.