RUN-AND-GUN

Pioneering NBA Coaching Legend Dies at 87

One former player said there was “nobody like him.”

Former Denver Nuggets head coach Doug Moe has died at age 87. One of his former Nuggets stars, Bill Hanzlik, said Moe died peacefully in San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday, with his wife Jane by his side. Moe coached the Nuggets from 1980 to 1990, with the team scoring 432 wins in that period. The team reached the playoffs nine times under Moe’s leadership. He also scored the NBA Coach of the Year award in 1988. “How far we went with who we had and winning at home, we dominated at home, said Hanzlik. “I attribute all of that to Doug Moe.” Moe has been hailed for his pioneering high-speed, high-scoring “run-and-gun” offense, which was ahead of its time in the 1980s. Moe was a three-time ABA All-Star during his own playing career, and also coached the San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers. Moe ranks 26th in NBA history with 628 total wins as a head coach. When Moe was fired by the Nuggets in 1990, he wore a Hawaiian shirt to the press conference announcing his exit and popped a bottle of champagne with his wife, reflecting the remaining years he was owed on his contract. “Doug’s in another galaxy,” Hanzlik said. “There’s nobody like him. Nobody.”