Ex Rockets Coach Johnny Egan Dies at 83

The Providence alum began his coaching career with the Houston Rockets.

The National Basketball Retired Players Association announced that former Houston Rockets standout and coach Johnny Egan passed away at the age of 83.

Egan played with the Rockets and Knicks, among other stops, before eventually taking over as the head coach for Houston. 

According to the Houston Chronicle, Egan died of a head injury suffered in a fall.

During his 11-year career, Egan had his high-scoring season with the Knicks in 1964. The Providence alum, who led the Friars to an NIT title in 1961 at Madison Square Garden, averaged 14.1 points over 42 games in his first tour with the Knicks after playing for the Detroit Pistons. He was later one of three players dealt to the Baltimore Bullets for Walt Bellamy in 1965, and was later taken by both the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers in separate expansion drafts.

Egan was also part of the Los Angeles Lakers' run to the 1969 NBA Finals, where he was the fourth-leading postseason scorer behind Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain.

Egan's playing days ended with the San Diego/Houston Rockets and he would become the fourth head coach in franchise history in 1973. He helped guide the Rockets to their first-ever playoff series victory, ironically topping the Knicks in a best-of-three series in 1975 before falling to the Boston Celtics in five. In three seasons at the Houston helm, Egan amassed a 129-152 record.

The Rockets acknowledged Egan's contributions to the franchise in a statements posted on Twitter:

INLINE

INLINE

Egan is survived by his two children John Jr. and Kim.