SALT LAKE CITY — Jerry Sloan, the fourth-winningest coach in NBA history who led the Utah Jazz for more than 22 years, died Friday at the age of 78.
Sloan, who ended his coaching career in February 2011, was diagnosed in the fall of 2015 with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia and his health declined over the last several years.
A two-time NBA All-Star in the late 1960s, Sloan was known as a hard-nosed defender and was the first player to have his number retired by the Chicago Bulls (No. 4). He carried that same no-nonsense attitude into his coaching career.