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The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2023

Bill Fitch

  • Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2023
  • Embed from Getty Images
  • Sport(s): Basketball
  • Statistics: 1 NBA Championship (1981)

    2 Coach of the Year Awards (1976 & 1980)

    944-1,106 NBA Record

    43-30 NCAA Record

    Member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
  • Bill Fitch's coaching jobs undoubtedly trended upward, going from Coe College (1958), North Dakota (1962), Bowling Green (1967), and Minnesota (1968) before he was given the opportunity to take over the reins of an NBA team in 1970. That team was the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he did more with that team than anyone had any right to.



    Fitch did not have much to work with, but he took a team in 1976 with an ancient Nate Thurmond and misfit toys to the Eastern Conference Finals. Fitch won the Coach of the Year, and he managed to take the Cavs to two more playoff appearances. The higher-profile Boston Celtics came calling in 1979, and he now had a team with serious skill.



    Coaching Boston for four seasons, Fitch had a dream 1980-81 season where he won his second Coach of the Year and led Boston a six-game Finals win over Houston for the NBA Championship. Fitch never had a year where Boston won less than 46 games, but he began clashing with ownership and resigned after the 1982-83 campaign.



    Fitch joined the team he beat in the Finals, Houston, who had since plummeted. With the incoming Hakeem Olajuwon, he rebuilt the team's culture and took them to the Finals, but he was unable to get a second ring. Expectations grew, and Fitch was again out of work in 1986, but he did bring them to the playoffs four out of five years.



    The final seven years of Fitch's NBA career would see it similar to how it began, with lower-tier teams (New Jersey and the Los Angeles Clippers), but he could only make the playoffs twice. Fitch retired with a losing record (944-1,106), but one of the best reputations in basketball history.



    We are proud to nominate Bill Fitch for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.
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