Las Vegas Weekly

May 15, 2009 · 10:38 AM

Photo Gallery: A salute to NBA coaching great Chuck Daly

By Robin Leach

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

NBA coach Chuck Daly was all around Las Vegas last July when he helped the U.S. men’s basketball team prepare for the Summer Olympics in Beijing (as you'll recall, the U.S. team easily won gold). When Chuck died at age 78 from pancreatic cancer May 9, our contributing photographer Tom Donohue looked through his files so we could honor him with a Vegas DeLuxe photo gallery.

Chuck coached the Dream Team to an Olympic gold medal in 1992 after winning back-to-back NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons. Pictures in Tom’s photographs of Chuck are Palms owner George Maloof, Hall of Fame coach of the 1996 U.S. team Lenny Wilkins and NBC sportscaster Jim Gray -- and even Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant wanted his photo taken with the great Chuck Daly.

We’re certain that Chuck is happily coaching a heavenly team of former NBA stars now, and we will always remember him from his Las Vegas visits.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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