Former Detroit Pistons player, coach Ray Scott reflects on NBA career
(CBS DETROIT) - Ray Scott can say that he has lived a great life.
The former Detroit Pistons head coach may not see his name inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Scott went 130-109 as Detroit's leading man before he was fired after his third season in 1976. But he will see his name forever engraved in the annals of basketball history, alongside giants of the game like Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson, and Gregg Popovich.
"We are getting ready to play this game," Scott said. "But before we do, he [then-deputy commissioner Simon Gourdine] said, 'We're going to present you with the coach of the year.' I had no clue."
Scott won the prestigious honor after leading Detroit to a then-team-best 50-32 record in the 1973-1974 season.
He was the first African American coach to win the award.
"I go to mid-court. And the deputy commissioner, an African American named Si[mon] Gourdine, hands me the trophy, and says 'To Ray Scott, the 1973-74 coach of the year,'" Scott said, describing the night he received the award. "I got the Chicago Bulls sitting here, looking at me. And I got the Detroit Pistons, my team, behind me, looking behind me, giving me a standing ovation with all the people. I take the trophy. I look at Si[mon], and he said to me, 'Ray, do you have any words?' And I said I do not. And I walked off the court."
Scott's time in the NBA didn't come without its fair share of obstacles.
In his book, "The NBA in Black and White: The Memoir of a Trailblazing NBA Player and Coach," Scott reflects on the racism and segregation he faced during his career in the 1960s and 1970s.
Scott says he isn't bitter and has no regrets after leaving the game nearly 50 years ago.
"I'm not bitter because of the respect that I got back, in my attitude," Scott says. "I think we are given our time. There is no what would it be like. There can only be what it is and what was it like".
