Doug Moe, who coached the Denver Nuggets to 432 wins and won 1987-88 NBA Coach of the Year, died Tuesday at 87 years old. Former Nuggets players Bill Hanzlik posted on X that Moe “passed away peacefully holding the hand of his wife.”
“Coach Moe was a one of a kind leader and person who spearheaded one of the most successful and exciting decades in Nuggets history,” the Nuggets said as part of a statement. “He will forever be loved and remembered by Nuggets fans and his banner commemorating his 432 career victories as head coach will hang in the rafters to forever honor his incredible legacy.”
Moe started his coaching career as an assistant in the ABA before becoming the San Antonio Spurs coach in 1976-77, the franchise’s inaugural NBA season. The Spurs made the playoffs in each of Moe’s first three seasons before he was fired late in the 1979-80 season.
After starting the 1980-81 season as a Denver assistant, he got elevated to head coach, and stayed in that role until 1990. Moe’s fast-paced, run-and-gun teams led the league scoring six times across his 10 seasons. His 432 wins were a franchise record until Michael Malone passed him in 2024.
Moe then moved to the Philadelphia 76ers, but he was fired after a 19-37 start to his first season. He returned to Denver in the 2000s as an assistant coach. Former Nuggets coach George Karl, whom Moe worked under, also took to X following Moe’s death.
A two-time All-ACC selection at North Carolina, Moe’s college career ended due to his association with a point shaving scandal; there was no evidence he was involved in fixing games, but he did admit to taking money from a conspirator. Moe was selected in the 1960 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons and in 1961 by the Chicago Packers, but due to the scandal, his NBA career was delayed.
He eventually began his professional basketball career in Italy in 1965 and joined the ABA’s New Orleans Buccaneers in 1967. He was an ABA All-Star his first year as well as the next two years with the Oakland Oaks — who won the 1968-69 ABA title — and the Carolina Cougars, respectively. He also finished in the top 10 in MVP voting all three years. He spent his last two years as a player with the Virginia Squires before beginning his coaching career.