Sports
Don Chaney
born 1946 · basketball coach, former player
Two-time NBA champion as a player elsewhere who worked as a Pistons assistant coach and later served two seasons as Detroit's head coach in the mid-1990s.
- Born
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
age 80- Birth name
- Donald Ray Chaney
- Detroit years
- 1980–1981, 1993–1995
- Field
- Sports
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Chaney, already a two-time NBA champion from his playing days with the Boston Celtics, first came to Detroit in 1980 as a Pistons assistant coach. He returned in May 1993 to take over as Detroit's head coach following a chaotic season under Ron Rothstein, inheriting an aging roster built around Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer alongside new pieces like Sean Elliott. His first season was difficult, with the Pistons finishing with their worst record since 1980, and his second, built around rookie Grant Hill's promising play, still ended with a 28-win season and Chaney's departure. He later found greater success as head coach of the Houston Rockets, where he won the NBA Coach of the Year award, but his Detroit tenure remained a rebuilding chapter in franchise history.
Highlights
- Pistons assistant coach starting in 1980
- Head coach of the Detroit Pistons, 1993–1995
- Coached rookie Grant Hill's first NBA season in Detroit
- Two-time NBA champion as a player with the Boston Celtics
- Later NBA Coach of the Year with the Houston Rockets
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1993–1995
The Palace of Auburn Hills
Demolished · 1988–2017
Where he served as Pistons head coach; demolished in 2020.