Longtime NBA and WNBA basketball coach Richie Adubato died last Thursday. He was 87 years old. He was most recently the radio analyst for the Orlando Magic from 2005-20. Adubato is best known as the New York Liberty head coach from the WNBA’s founding in 1997 through 2004 where he led New York to three WNBA Finals appearances in four years. From 2005 to 2007, he was the head coach of the Washington Mystics, leading them to a 34-38 record.
Before coaching in the WNBA, Adubato was a long-time NBA assistant coach who also had stints serving as a head coach, including the Detroit Pistons (1979-80), Dallas Mavericks (1989-93) and Orlando Magic (1996-97). While on the Pistons coaching staff, the head coach to start the 1979-80 season was Dick Vitale, who is better known as an ESPN men’s college basketball analyst.
