Hall of Fame member Bill Fitch, a two-time NBA Coach of the Year and head coach of the Boston Celtics’ 1981 title team, died Wednesday at 89.
Fitch’s daughter, Marcy Ann Coville, confirmed her father’s passing through Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle.
“I am sad to announce that NBA Hall of Famer Bill Fitch passed away Wednesday evening,” said Carlisle, president of the National Basketball Coaches Association. “He died peacefully surrounded by his loving family in Lake Conroe, Texas.”
Hall of Famer Bill Fitch, twice Coach of the Year and a champion with Boston in 1981 as Larry Bird’s first NBA coach, has died at age 89.
Fitch’s passing was confirmed by daughter Marcy Ann Coville via Indiana's Rick Carlisle, who broke into coaching under Fitch in New Jersey. pic.twitter.com/IsTcCDOAMR
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 3, 2022
Fitch coached five NBA franchises over 25 seasons and won 944 games with the Cleveland Cavaliers (1970-79), Celtics (1979-83), Houston Rockets (1983-88), New Jersey Nets (1989-92) and Los Angeles Clippers (1994-98).
Fitch ranks 11th all-time among NBA coaches in wins. He ranks second in losses (1,106).
He guided the 1980-81 Celtics to a 62-20 record in the regular season and a six-game victory against the Rockets in the NBA Finals. Flipping the script in 1985-86, Fitch guided Houston to a 51-31 record in the regular season and lost to Boston in six games in the NBA Finals.
Fitch was the NBA Coach of the Year for the 1975-76 and 1979-80 seasons. He received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Before coaching in the NBA, Fitch was head coach at his alma mater Coe College (1958-62) and at North Dakota (1962-67), Bowling Green (1967-68) and Minnesota (1968-70).
–Field Level Media
