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Behind the CoachingHonoring the Impact of Sports Coaching
Coach Profile

Dick Motta

Dick Motta

1978 NBA Champion Coach | 1971 NBA Coach of the Year | 935 NBA Coaching Wins

John Richard “Dick” Motta was born September 3, 1931, in Midvale, Utah. After building a successful college program at Weber State, he entered the NBA as Chicago Bulls head coach in 1968.

Motta earned the 1971 NBA Coach of the Year award and later guided the Washington Bullets to their 1978 NBA championship, defeating the Seattle SuperSonics in seven games.

He helped build the expansion Dallas Mavericks into a playoff contender and later coached Sacramento, Dallas again and Denver. Across 25 NBA seasons and 1,952 games, Motta finished 935-1,017 in the regular season.

  • Overall Coaching Record: 935-1017

Coaching Career

Motta joined Chicago in 1968, two seasons after the expansion Bulls began play. His first two teams finished 33-49 and 39-43.

The Bulls then became a regular playoff presence with Jerry Sloan, Chet Walker, Bob Love and Norm Van Lier. Motta won NBA Coach of the Year in 1970-71 after Chicago improved to 51-31.

His Bulls recorded 57 wins in 1971-72 and reached the conference finals in both 1974 and 1975. He left after 1975-76 with a 356-300 record over eight seasons.

Notable Players Coached

Motta moved to Washington for 1976-77 and inherited a veteran core built around Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes.

His 1977-78 Bullets finished 44-38 but surged through the postseason, defeating Seattle in Game 7 of the NBA Finals for the franchise’s first championship.

Washington returned to the Finals in 1979, losing the rematch to the SuperSonics. Motta left following 1979-80 with a four-season Washington record of 185-143.

Notable Players Coached

Motta became the first coach of the expansion Dallas Mavericks in 1980-81. The new club went 15-67 but steadily improved as young players developed.

Dallas won 43 games and reached its first postseason in 1983-84. Motta’s Mavericks eventually won 55 games in 1986-87, claiming the Midwest Division before a first-round playoff upset.

He stepped down after seven seasons, having guided the franchise from expansion infancy to a sustained contender.

Notable Players Coached

Motta returned to NBA coaching in January 1990, taking over the Sacramento Kings midway through 1989-90.

The Kings went 16-38 under him that season, 25-57 in 1990-91 and 7-18 before his December 1991 departure. His Sacramento total was 48-113.

Notable Players Coached

Motta returned to Dallas for two more seasons in the mid-1990s. With a young nucleus that included Jason Kidd, Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn, the Mavericks finished 36-46 in 1994-95.

Dallas fell to 26-56 the next season. The second stint added 62 wins and 102 losses, bringing his combined Dallas record to 329-409.

Notable Players Coached

Motta’s final head-coaching assignment was with Denver in 1996-97. He compiled a 17-52 record over 69 games.

His career ended with 935 NBA regular-season wins, a championship and decades of influence on expansion-team development and league coaching.

Notable Players Coached