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Former NBA coach Doug Moe has died, his son David said Tuesday. He was 87 years old.
David informed several of the coach’s friends that his father had passed away after a long battle with cancer.
Longtime Denver TV personality Ron Zappolo also confirmed the death to The Associated Press. Moe was an ABA original and gained fame during a messy, irreverent decade as coach of the Denver Nuggets in the 1980s.
In a tribute to Moe posted on social media, the Nuggets remembered Moe as “a unique leader and person who spearheaded one of the most successful and exciting decades in Nuggets history.”
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FILE – Former Denver Nuggets head coach Doug Moe pleads with his team during a timeout in the final seconds of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets in May 1986. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File)
In 15 seasons as a head coach, Moe spent time with the San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers. He never won a title; His most memorable career came in 1985, when his best Denver team fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. He was NBA Coach of the Year in 1988.
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More than his wins and losses, Moe will be remembered for his motion offense and the equally entertaining shows he put on while prowling the sidelines during his coaching days. His Denver teams led the league in scoring for five consecutive seasons in the early 1980s, and he rarely took a set piece.
FILE – Retired Denver Nuggets head coach Doug Moe stands with his retired number during the team’s 50th anniversary celebration before the second half of an NBA basketball game, Oct. 21, 2017, in Denver, Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
The Nuggets bench, along with the 10 rows behind it, was no place for children, but within hours, Moe would be at the bar or coffee shop hanging out with many of those same players he had vilified, often wondering himself where that foul-mouthed man on the bench had come from.
“Sometimes I think I have a Jekyll and Hyde personality. I do a lot of antics before and after a game, but once it starts, my emotions just take over,” Moe said in a 1983 interview with The New York Times.
Denver Nuggets assistant coach Doug Moe works without suspended head coach Goerge Karl in the first half against the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets on November 30, 2005 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Years before John Elway arrived, Moe was Denver’s biggest sports personality. Zappolo, the sportscaster, said there was a sweet teddy bear behind the game-day bragging.
“I don’t know if there’s ever been a bigger sports figure in Denver, not just because of his success, but because of how colorful he was and how kind he was,” Zappolo said. “There are a lot of people today who feel like they’re Doug’s best friend.”
Moe insisted that he never wanted a head coaching job (he didn’t want to work that hard), but Larry Brown convinced him to take a job in San Antonio. With the help of George Gervin, Moe won the division twice and reached a conference final in four seasons with the Spurs.
Moe ended his head coaching career with an unsuccessful stint in Philadelphia that lasted less than a season before returning to Denver in supporting roles, including a return to the bench as an assistant to George Karl.
