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Former LA Clippers head coach Bill Fitch to be inducted into Hall of Fame

By Garrett Chorpenning

LOS ANGELES, CA - 1995: Head coach Bill Fitch of the Los Angeles Clippers talks to Bo Outlaw #45 during the game in 1995 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1995 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - 1995: Head coach Bill Fitch of the Los Angeles Clippers talks to Bo Outlaw #45 during the game in 1995 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1995 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Former LA Clippers head coach Bill Fitch, who coached the team from 1994 to 1998, will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Former LA Clippers head coach and NBA Champion Bill Fitch will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, according to Mark Berman.

Fitch coached the LA Clippers from 1994 to 1998, guiding the team to a postseason appearance in 1997. It was the franchise’s third since moving to San Diego and taking the Clippers name.

Fitch’s other years in Los Angeles weren’t as successful, but this also wasn’t during the golden age of LA Clippers basketball. At the time, the team’s 36-win season in 1997 was the franchise’s third-highest total since moving to Los Angeles, and remained the highest until the Clippers won 39 games in 2002.

Of course, Fitch never had the best tools at his disposal in Los Angeles. Under the ownership of Donald Sterling, resources were limited and above-average players rarely, if ever, re-signed. Still, Fitch managed to bring a team led by Loy Vaught, Rodney Rogers and then-rookie Lorenzen Wright to the playoffs, losing to the eventual Western Conference champion Utah Jazz.

The Clippers were Fitch’s final coaching job, retiring in 1998 not long after he was fired. However, they were hardly his first.

Fitch also coached the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets and New Jersey Nets during his almost 30-year tenure in the NBA. He won his first and only NBA title with Larry Bird and the Celtics in 1981, and helped guide the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Rockets to the NBA Finals in 1986.

Fitch racked up 944 wins during his career, the tenth-most all-time. 99 of those wins came from his time with the LA Clippers.

Fitch is no stranger to league-wide all-time lists, so it makes sense that his name appears on several of the franchise’s as well. He’s one of six coaches to ever bring the Clippers to the playoffs, including the Buffalo Braves era, along with Jack Ramsay, Larry Brown, Mike Dunleavy, Vinny Del Negro and Doc Rivers. Fitch also ranks sixth in wins in franchise history.

Despite his best days coming with other NBA franchises, Fitch left a positive mark on the LA Clippers and helped the team reach heights rarely seen in past seasons.

Next. Breaking down the LA Clippers' perfect playoff scenario. dark

Assuming Berman’s report is true, Fitch will be inducted into the Hall of Fame later this year, joining longtime Clippers broadcaster Ralph Lawler and other inductees.

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