Hall of Fame Celtics Coach Bill Fitch Dies at Age 89

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Bill Fitch, who piloted the 1980-81 Boston Celtics to an NBA title, has died at age 89.

Longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein relayed the news and provided comments from Indiana Pacers head coach (and National Basketball Coaches Association president) Rick Carlisle.

"I am sad to announce that NBA Hall of Famer Bill Fitch passed away Wednesday evening," Carlisle said. "He died peacefully surrounded by his loving family in Lake Conroe, Texas."

"Coach Fitch's numerous accomplishments pale in comparison to the giant impact he had on countless members of the basketball world in a legendary career that spanned 40-plus years. His mark on the NBA game is indelible."

Fitch served as the Cleveland Cavaliers' first head coach, helping build a team that went 15-67 in its 1970-71 expansion year.

Five seasons later, the Cavs went 49-33, won the Central Division and took down the Washington Bullets in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Fitch led the Cavs to two more playoff appearances but resigned after a 29-53 season in 1978-79.

He then joined the Celtics and became Larry Bird's first NBA head coach. The C's averaged 62 wins over their first three seasons under Fitch, winning the 1980-81 NBA title over the Houston Rockets.

After the 1982-83 season, Fitch resigned and left to coach the Rockets. He became the first NBA head coach for another star, Hakeem Olajuwon.

Fitch also helped engineer a major turnaround. The Rockets went 14-68 in the year prior to his arrival but made the playoffs in Fitch's second season (1984-85) with a 48-34 record.

The 1985-86 Rockets pulled off one of the greatest playoff upsets in NBA history when they took down the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the Western Conference Finals.

Houston advanced to face Fitch's old team in the Celtics, who dispatched the Rockets in six NBA Finals games. There was no shame in losing to that 67-15 team, which stands as one of the best in NBA history.

Fitch made two more coaching stops before his NBA career was over, leading the New Jersey Nets from 1989 to 1992 and then the Los Angeles Clippers from 1994 to 1998.

Both franchises struggled mightily before his arrival but made the playoffs once apiece in his tenure.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.