Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Ben Pickman

Hall of Fame NBA Coach Bill Fitch Dies at 89

Bill Fitch, who was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019 for his accomplishments as a coach, died Wednesday, his daughter Marcy Ann Coville confirmed via Pacers coach Rick Carlisle.

Fitch was 89. 

“I am sad to announce that NBA Hall of Famer Bill Fitch passed away Wednesday evening,” Carlisle, president of the National Basketball Coaches Association, said, per Marc Stein. “He died peacefully surrounded by his loving family in Lake Conroe, Texas.”

Fitch spent time with five different franchises: the Cavaliers, Celtics, Rockets, Nets and Clippers. Throughout his 25 years of coaching in the NBA, he took home two Coach of the Year honors, in 1975–76 (with Cleveland) and in ’79–80 (with Boston). He led the Celtics to the NBA title in the ’81 season and later lost to the Celtics in the ’83 Finals while coaching the Rockets.

Fitch finished with an all-time NBA record of 944–1,106 as well as a 181–115 mark in college. He remains 11th on the NBA's career wins list and is one of just two coaches—Lenny Wilkens being the other—who lost more than 1,100 games in their NBA career.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.