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Dick Motta
John Richard Motta (born September 3, 1931) is an American former basketball coach whose career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) spanned 25 years. Motta coached the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA Championship, and he won the 1971 NBA Coach of the Year Award with the Chicago Bulls. Motta is eighth all-time with 1,952 games as coach, while ranking 13th in wins and fourth in losses; he has the most wins of eligible coaches not currently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In 25 seasons as a coach, he reached the postseason fourteen times.
Known as a strict disciplinarian with high expectations for his players, Motta developed a reputation for putting together well-conditioned, tough, physical teams. He was known for his eccentric personality and fiery temper, which included infamously throwing his jacket at a referee, kicking a basketball into the stands and throwing a dollar bill onto the court and demanding it to play after a GM traded one of his players for cash considerations. He retired from coaching in 1997 and ran a bed and breakfast with his wife in Bear Lake, Idaho.
John Richard Motta was born on September 3, 1931, in Midvale, Utah. He attended Jordan High School in Sandy, Utah, where he excelled in basketball.
Motta attended Utah State University in Logan, Utah. He initially majored in agriculture before switching his major to physical education in his sophomore year.
Motta taught seventh grade and coached for a few years at the junior high school before being drafted in the Air Force, reaching the rank of Lieutenant. He returned in 1957 to the town and became the head coach of the high school. At a parents night, he had members of the basketball team and their parents sign a paper that laid out the expectations Motta had for the parents. On New Year's Day of his first season, upon seeing three of his players hung over from drinking the night before, Motta immediately cut them from the team; he did not budge even over the objections of the town.
The team went 10-6 in his first season and he took the failure to make the state tournament personally. The 1958 team went 24-4 and the 1959 team went 25-2 on their way to the state tournament, which culminated in the Idaho Class (AA) championship in 1959; on the roster for the title was Phil Johnson, who became an NBA head coach. As late as 2026, Motta stated in an interview that winning the state championship was his greatest thrill as a coach, even topping the NBA championship he won two decades later.
In 1960, he was hired as the head basketball coach at Weber College in Ogden, Utah, which at the time was in transition from transitioning to a four-year program. Under the direction of Motta and assistant coach Phil Johnson, Weber State won three Big Sky Conference championships (1965, 1966, 1968).
Motta was hired as head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1968 after a six-year stint at Weber State. He replaced Johnny Kerr, who had led the team to two playoff appearances despite subpar records of 33-48 and 29–53, respectively. Motta coached the team for eight seasons, coaching 656 games. From 1970 to 1974 he led the Bulls to four consecutive 50-win seasons, winning the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 1971. It did not translate to playoff success, as the Bulls won just one playoff series (1974) in that span. However, they advanced to the Western Conference Finals in the 1974–75 season, beating the Kansas City Kings to play the Golden State Warriors in a series which they lost in seven games. The team went an NBA-worst 24–58 in 1975–76. He was eventually replaced by Ed Badger on August 25, 1976.
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Dick Motta
John Richard Motta (born September 3, 1931) is an American former basketball coach whose career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) spanned 25 years. Motta coached the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA Championship, and he won the 1971 NBA Coach of the Year Award with the Chicago Bulls. Motta is eighth all-time with 1,952 games as coach, while ranking 13th in wins and fourth in losses; he has the most wins of eligible coaches not currently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In 25 seasons as a coach, he reached the postseason fourteen times.
Known as a strict disciplinarian with high expectations for his players, Motta developed a reputation for putting together well-conditioned, tough, physical teams. He was known for his eccentric personality and fiery temper, which included infamously throwing his jacket at a referee, kicking a basketball into the stands and throwing a dollar bill onto the court and demanding it to play after a GM traded one of his players for cash considerations. He retired from coaching in 1997 and ran a bed and breakfast with his wife in Bear Lake, Idaho.
John Richard Motta was born on September 3, 1931, in Midvale, Utah. He attended Jordan High School in Sandy, Utah, where he excelled in basketball.
Motta attended Utah State University in Logan, Utah. He initially majored in agriculture before switching his major to physical education in his sophomore year.
Motta taught seventh grade and coached for a few years at the junior high school before being drafted in the Air Force, reaching the rank of Lieutenant. He returned in 1957 to the town and became the head coach of the high school. At a parents night, he had members of the basketball team and their parents sign a paper that laid out the expectations Motta had for the parents. On New Year's Day of his first season, upon seeing three of his players hung over from drinking the night before, Motta immediately cut them from the team; he did not budge even over the objections of the town.
The team went 10-6 in his first season and he took the failure to make the state tournament personally. The 1958 team went 24-4 and the 1959 team went 25-2 on their way to the state tournament, which culminated in the Idaho Class (AA) championship in 1959; on the roster for the title was Phil Johnson, who became an NBA head coach. As late as 2026, Motta stated in an interview that winning the state championship was his greatest thrill as a coach, even topping the NBA championship he won two decades later.
In 1960, he was hired as the head basketball coach at Weber College in Ogden, Utah, which at the time was in transition from transitioning to a four-year program. Under the direction of Motta and assistant coach Phil Johnson, Weber State won three Big Sky Conference championships (1965, 1966, 1968).
Motta was hired as head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1968 after a six-year stint at Weber State. He replaced Johnny Kerr, who had led the team to two playoff appearances despite subpar records of 33-48 and 29–53, respectively. Motta coached the team for eight seasons, coaching 656 games. From 1970 to 1974 he led the Bulls to four consecutive 50-win seasons, winning the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 1971. It did not translate to playoff success, as the Bulls won just one playoff series (1974) in that span. However, they advanced to the Western Conference Finals in the 1974–75 season, beating the Kansas City Kings to play the Golden State Warriors in a series which they lost in seven games. The team went an NBA-worst 24–58 in 1975–76. He was eventually replaced by Ed Badger on August 25, 1976.
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