This day in history: Detroit Pistons coaching legend Chuck Daly dies in 2009

CBS News Detroit Digital Brief for May 9, 2023

(CBS DETROIT) - Fourteen years ago today, Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly died at the age of 78, according to ESPN.

AUBURN HILL, MI - CIRCA 1989: Head coach Chuck Daly of the Detroit Pistons looks down his bench during an NBA basketball game circa 1989 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hill, Michigan. Daly coached the Pistons from 1983-91. Focus On Sport / Getty Images
Isiah Thomas #11, Point Guard for the Detroit Pistons dribbles the basketball past #4 Byron Scott of the Los Angeles Lakers during the NBA Pacific Division basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers on 14th February 1989 at The Forum arena in Inglewood, Los Angeles, California, United States. The Pistons won the game 111 - 103. / Getty Images

Daly joined the Detroit Pistons in 1983 and coached the team to back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990. 

The team at this time had a defense-oriented, tough, physical style of play, earning them the nickname "The Bad Boys." Players on the team at this time included Bill Laimbeer, Isiah Thomas, Rick Mahorn, Joe Dumars, John Salley and Dennis Rodman.

In 1992, Daly was named the head coach of the U.S. "Dream Team," which won the gold medal during the Olympic games in Barcelona that summer.  

This was the first time active NBA players were featured on the Olympic team, and the team included Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and other notable players.

1992: Michael Jordan (L), Magic Johnson (M) and Clyde Drexler (R) of Team USA, the Dream Team, sit on the bench during the men's basketball competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Icon Sportswire) Icon Sportswire

He spent nine seasons with the Detroit Pistons and left the team in 1992 to coach the New Jersey Nets for two seasons before he retired. 

In 1997, he returned to coaching and spent two seasons with the Orlando Magic before retiring. 

Daly was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame twice, once in 1994 and again in 2010, for his role in coaching the "Dream Team." 

He died from pancreatic cancer after he announced he had been diagnosed two months earlier. 

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