Bad Boys Return to Honor Chuck Daly

TEQUESTA, Fla. -- This looked like a Bad Boys reunion.

The NBA came from around the country Wednesday to celebrate the life and mourn the death of Chuck Daly, but nothing was more impressive than his collection of pallbearers.

It was the nucleus of his two championship teams in Detroit, the ones that transformed him from just another coaching lifer into a Hall of Famer and Olympic Gold Medalist revered by all.

Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Vinnie Johnson, Rick Mahorn and Bill Laimbeer were at his side. The Bad Boy Pistons and their leader one final time.

"I think when you go through the things we did together, there is a bond that never breaks,'' said Laimbeer. "This was a sad time, but a time to celebrate who he was, and what he did, and how loved he was.''

Daly died Saturday at age 78 after a bout with pancreatic cancer. More than 400 people attended the two-hour service at the St. Jude Catholic Church. He was buried nearby at the Riverside Memorial Park Cemetery.

"Chuck was a fighter, and he fought until his dying breath,'' said Thomas, now the basketball coach at nearby Florida International University. Thomas visited with his coach several times in the final days. "But right up to the end, he was more concerned about everyone else, all his basketball friends, his coaching friends, making sure they were all right. That's the kind of guy he was. I think this turnout speaks for itself.''

The Detroit Pistons brought their entire front office staff and several friends from Michigan on the team plane, all arriving at the church in a chartered bus. Also there was John Salley, who played for the Bad Boys, and assistant coaches Brendan Malone and Brendan Suhr.

"Chuck would have liked this turnout,'' Suhr said.

The service was attended by everyone from NBA Commissioner David Stern, to a myriad of coaching peers. There were golfing buddies, longtime family friends, and most everyone he met during his retirement years.

Also there, and serving as pallbearer, was Dallas coach Rick Carlisle, who left the church immediately after the service and flew to Denver, where his team played a few hours later.

"Missing this [funeral] was not an option,'' Carlisle said.

Carlisle, president of the NBA Coaches Association, is a former assistant coach under Daly. He, too, forged a bond that never broke, like many of those that Daly touched through a life of coaching. Carlise is the one who created the CD lapel pins that coaches have been wearing through the playoffs. Everyone was wearing one Wednesday.

Other coaches have won more than Daly did – although two NBA titles and an Olympic Gold Medal are tough to beat -- but none have been so universally liked as a great person, a charismatic character, and a wonderful champion.

Among those who came to praise him were coaches and former coaches like Pat Riley, Carlisle, Michael Curry, Mike Fratello. There were coaches turned broadcasters like Dick Vitale, Dick Versace, Hubie Brown, Matt Guokas. There were coaches-turned-golfing buddies like Billy Cunningham and Rollie Massimino. There were NBA executives like Rod Thorn of the Nets, John Gabriel of the Knicks, Bob Vanderweide of the Magic.

They all laughed and cried, telling stories about Daly's impeccable dress, his always-perfect hair and his well-shined shoes. They loved talking about how cheap he really was, making millions in the last years of his coaching career, but spending very little of it.

"He never paid retail for a closet filled with designer suits,'' Massimino said. "He lived the good life, without ever spending very much. If he had known all these people were coming, he would have gotten out a brand new suit, made sure his shoes were shined and combed his hair to perfection.''

Unlike many coaches today, Daly never played in the league. He didn't reach it until he was 48 years old, as an assistant in Philadelphia. He never forget how lucky he was to be part of it. As much as anything, that's why people like him. He was a child of the Great Depression, and he always wondered if the money would disappear.

He liked looking good, and he always did. The Bad Boys even called him "Daddy Rich.'' Yet he never liked paying to look that way.

When he arrived at his last coaching stop – with the Orlando Magic from 1997-99 – Daly was talked into moving into an upscale, gated community on the southwest side of town.

Although the Magic obviously paid his moving expenses, he wanted to save and pocket a few of the dollars they were paying him. So he rented a U-Haul truck, and his assistant coaches helped carry in some of the boxes into his home.

"If you ever looked in his garage, you'd find about 900 golf clubs, every one he ever owned,'' Thomas said. "He couldn't bear the thought of throwing out the old ones. He always wondered if this would last.''

The NBA shed a collective tear – and shared a laugh – for Daly.