Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Rick Adelman announced his retirement from coaching in the NBA on Monday after 23 seasons in the league calling the shots for five different teams.
Adelman, who ranks eighth in wins on the National Basketball Association all-time list and twice took teams to the NBA Finals, will remain with the Wolves as a consultant.
"I think it's time for me to step aside," said Adelman, 67. "When I came here, we really tried to see if we could turn some things around and we made some strides.
"We're not that far away. But I'm ready and my wife's ready to move on to another phase. We're looking forward to that."
Adelman, who was named head coach of the Timberwolves ahead of the 2011-12 season, took over a team that had won 15 and 17 games the prior two seasons. He steered them to 26, 31 and 40 victories over the next three campaigns and has a career record of 1,042-749.
"Coach Adelman is truly one of the greatest coaches in our game's history, and he has helped restore credibility and respectability to the Timberwolves franchise through what he stands for both on and off the court," said Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Flip Saunders.
Adelman served as head coach of five NBA teams: Portland (1988-94), Golden State (1995-97), Sacramento (1998-2006), Houston (2007-11) and Minnesota(2011-2014).
He reached the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992 with Portland, took his teams to four Western Conference finals and won four division titles.
"Rick Adelman established himself as one of our game's great coaches, manning the NBA sidelines for the better part of a quarter century," NBA CommissionerAdam Silver said in a statement.
Adelman's teams reached the NBA playoffs in 16 of his 23 coaching seasons and his trademark offenses finished among the top five in the NBA in scoring 14 times.
A former guard, Adelman played seven seasons in the NBA with the San Diego Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Jazz and Kansas City-Omaha Kings.
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