Former Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers and Kansas City Kings coach Jack McKinney, whose career was almost derailed by a devastating bicycle injury, has died, St. Joseph's University confirmed.
He was 83.
McKinney was a protege of Hall of Fame coach Dr. Jack Ramsay and succeeded Ramsay as basketball coach at St. Joseph's, his alma mater, from 1966-1974 before leaving to become an assistant coach in the NBA.
McKinney was named to his first NBA head-coaching job with the Lakers in 1979. He was the Lakers coach for 14 games, but suffered serious head injuries in a bicycle accident and was replaced by Paul Westhead, who went on to take the team -- with a rookie named Magic Johnson -- to the NBA title.