Hoops Habit
Fansided

NBA: 15 Harshest Coach Firings Of All Time

By Phil Watson

Jan 25, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt (right) reacts beside forward LeBron James (23) against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland won 108-98. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt (right) reacts beside forward LeBron James (23) against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland won 108-98. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
14 of 17
Next
BUFFALO, NY – 1976: Head coach Gene Shue of the Philadelphia 76ers on the sideline during a National Basketball Association game against the Buffalo Braves at the Memorial Auditorium circa 1976 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY – 1976: Head coach Gene Shue of the Philadelphia 76ers on the sideline during a National Basketball Association game against the Buffalo Braves at the Memorial Auditorium circa 1976 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /

4. 76ers Jettison Gene Shue 6 Games In (Nov. 4, 1977)

The Philadelphia 76ers were coming off their first trip to the NBA Finals since Wilt Chamberlain starred for the team 10 years earlier, but off to a 2-4 start in 1977-78, owner Fitz Dixon pulled the plug on coach Gene Shue.

At the time, it matched the record for the fastest firing of a coach (Carl Bennett had gotten the axe from the Fort Wayne Pistons six games into the 1948-49 campaign).

Shue had overseen a quick rebuild of the 76ers, who in 1972-73 hired Roy Rubin—a man with only high-school coaching experience—and set an NBA record with 73 losses. By 1976, Philadelphia was back in the playoffs and after adding the ABA’s biggest star, Julius Erving, shortly before the start of the 1976-77 season, the Sixers returned to the Finals, losing in six games to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Philadelphia 76ers

Shue was 157-177 in his four seasons, plus six games, in Philadelphia and was 11-11 in the playoffs.

The Aftermath For Shue: Shue returned to coaching the following season, taking over the relocated San Diego Clippers, and later spent parts of six seasons with the Washington Bullets and parts of two campaigns with the Los Angeles Clippers. Combined with a previous six-plus years with the Bullets when they were in Baltimore, Shue was 784-861 in parts of 22 NBA campaigns and took two teams to the Finals, losing both times.

The Aftermath For The 76ers: Former star forward Billy Cunningham, retired for less than a year, took over as head coach and led the club to a 53-23 mark the rest of the way. Philadelphia got back to the Finals in 1980 and 1982 and finally broke through with a title in 1983 after acquiring Moses Malone. Cunningham resigned after the 1984-85 season with a 454-196 record (66-39 in the playoffs) and would later be one of the driving forces behind getting an expansion team in Orlando.

Next: Congrats, Coach ... Now Get Lost