Dick Motta

Dick Motta

Motta in 1971
Personal information
Born	(1931-09-03) September 3, 1931 (age 92) Midvale, Utah, U.S.
Listed height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school	Jordan (Sandy, Utah)
College	Utah State
Coaching career	1968–1997
Career history
As coach:
1962–1968	Weber State
1968–1976	Chicago Bulls
1976–1980	Washington Bullets
1980–1987	Dallas Mavericks
1990–1991	Sacramento Kings
1994–1996	Dallas Mavericks
1996–1997	Denver Nuggets
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (1978) NBA Coach of the Year (1971) NBA All-Star Game head coach (1979) Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award (2015) Big Sky Coach of the Year (1965) 3× Big Sky champion (1965, 1966, 1968)
Career coaching record
NBA	935–1017 (.479)

John Richard Motta (born September 3, 1931) is an American former basketball coach whose career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) spanned 25 years. Motta coached the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA Championship, and he won the 1971 NBA Coach of the Year Award with the Chicago Bulls. Motta is eighth all-time with 1,952 games as coach, while ranking 13th in wins and fourth in losses; he has the most wins of eligible coaches not currently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.^[1] In 25 seasons as a coach, he reached the postseason fourteen times.

Known as a strict disciplinarian with high expectations for his players, Motta developed a reputation for putting together well-conditioned, tough, physical teams. He was known for his eccentric personality and fiery temper, which included infamously throwing his jacket at a referee, kicking a basketball into the stands and throwing a dollar bill onto the court and demanding it to play after a GM traded one of his players for cash considerations. He retired from coaching in 1997 and ran a bed and breakfast with his wife in Bear Lake, Idaho.