Doug Moe, the innovative coach who guided the Denver Nuggets through one of the franchise’s most dynamic eras and earned the NBA’s top coaching honor in 1988, died Tuesday at age 87, the Nuggets announced.
The San Antonio Express-News reported that Moe had been dealing with an illness prior to his passing. Widely respected for an up-tempo, high-scoring style, he leaves behind a significant imprint on professional basketball.
Long Journey From Player to Bench Leader
Moe’s playing career included stints in Italy and the ABA from 1965 to 1972, but chronic knee problems ended his time on the court. He swiftly moved to coaching, taking over the San Antonio Spurs in 1976. After four seasons in Texas, he began a decade-long run with the Nuggets in 1980 that would define his legacy.
Briefly hired by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1992, Moe was dismissed midway through that campaign. He later returned to Denver as a coaching consultant from 2002 to 2005 and served as an assistant coach through 2008 before retiring.
Record-Setting Offense
Moe’s Nuggets teams were synonymous with fast-break basketball. His 1981-82 squad averaged 126.5 points per game, still the highest single-season mark in league history, and remains the only NBA team to top 100 points in every game of an 82-game schedule.
Over 14 seasons as an NBA head coach, Moe compiled a 628-529 regular-season record (.543) and went 33-50 in the playoffs (.398). His 628 victories place him 26th on the league’s all-time coaching wins list, directly behind Flip Saunders and Chuck Daly.
The high point of Moe’s career came in 1988, when he was voted NBA Coach of the Year after leading Denver to a 54-28 record—an improvement of 17 wins over the previous season.
Nuggets Pay Tribute
“Coach Moe was a one-of-a-kind leader and person who spearheaded one of the most successful and exciting decades in Nuggets history,” the team said in a statement. The organization noted that a banner honoring his 432 coaching victories in Denver will continue to hang at Ball Arena.
The Nuggets extended condolences to Moe’s wife, Jane, his son, David, and the rest of his family and friends. Hoops Rumors echoed those sentiments in its announcement of his death.
Source: Hoops Rumors
