Johnny Egan played 11 seasons in the NBA and coached for 4 years.
Johnny Egan, a former coach of the Houston Rockets and an 11-year NBA veteran as a player, has died at 83. Per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Egan died after sustaining head injuries following a fall on May 8.
Egan was one of the original players on the Rockets when the team moved to Houston before the 1971-72 season and coached the team from 1972-76, taking the Houston edition of the franchise to its first playoff berth in 1975. That marked the Rockets’ first playoff series win as Houston defeated the New York Knicks, 2-1, in the first round.
He remained involved in the Rockets family for five decades, continuing to participate in community and alumni events after his playing and coaching career. Johnny’s vibrant personality and kind spirit will be missed. Our condolences go out to his beloved family.
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) July 21, 2022
The basketball community has lost a Legend. Our hearts are with the family, friends and fans of Johnny Egan.#LegendsForever pic.twitter.com/OdIiz0wPMj
— NBA Alumni 🏀 (@NBAalumni) July 21, 2022
Egan played in 712 games in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons (1961-63), New York Knicks (1963-65), Baltimore Bullets (1965-68), Los Angeles Lakers (1968-70) and San Diego/Houston Rockets (1970-72). He averaged 7.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game and was a key rotation player of the 1968-69 Lakers, who reached the Finals but lost to the Boston Celtics in Game 7.
He succeeded Tex Winter as coach of the Rockets during the 1971-72 season. Per the Chronicle, Egan was well known to Rockets fans as the first on-air broadcast partner of former longtime Rockets play-by-play announcer Bill Worrell.
