Johnny Egan

Johnny Egan

High School Basketball Champion | NBA Player-Coach | Former Houston Rockets Head Coach

Johnny Egan was born on January 31, 1939, in Hartford, Connecticut. As a point guard, he played at Weaver High School, where he won the New England high school basketball championship in 1956 and 1957.

Egan was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2nd round of the 1961 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. He played for the Pistons, New York Knicks, Baltimore Bullets, Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Houston Rockets in his 12-season playing career.

Coach Egan passed away on July 21, 2022, at the age of 83.

  • Overall Coaching Record: 129-152

Coaching Career

In his last season of playing, Egan was a player-coach under Tex Winter. Winter was fired mid-season and Egan became their head coach finishing with a coaching record of 16-19. After the season, Egan retired from playing and fully transitioned into coaching.

In his first full-time season, the Rockets finished with a 32–50 record, missing the playoffs. The following season in 1975, the Rockets finished with a 41–41 record, qualifying for the playoffs, but lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Boston Celtics in 5 games (4-1). In 1977, the Rockets reached the conference finals but lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in 6 games.

In his 3 seasons as the full-time head coach of the Rockets, his assistant coach was the late Larry Siegfried, a former 5x NBA champion with the Boston Celtics.

Notable Players Coached