Don Chaney
Guard, #12
- Born March 22, 1946
- Attended Houston
- Coached by Jerry West
Signed by the Lakers in 1976 following a brief stint in the American Basketball Assn., Chaney played 90 games over parts of two seasons with the team. Drafted by Boston in 1968, he helped the Celtics beat the Lakers in the 1969 NBA Finals and earned another championship ring with them in 1974.
Playing primarily off the bench for the Lakers during the 1976-77 season, Chaney was named to the NBA all-defensive second team as the team finished first in the Pacific Division before losing to Portland in the conference finals. Chaney appeared in nine games the following season before being traded back to Boston along with Kermit Washington and a future first-round draft pick (Freeman Williams) for Charlie Scott. Chaney retired in 1980 as the only player to have played alongside both Bill Russell and Larry Bird.
He later spent 12 seasons as an NBA head coach with four different teams (including the Clippers from 1984-87) and was named the 1990-91 NBA coach of the year while with Houston.
Feb. 15, 2011