John Richard Motta (born September 3, 1931) is an American former basketball coach whose career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) spanned 25 years. Motta coached the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA Championship, and he won the 1971 NBA Coach of the Year Award with the Chicago Bulls. Motta is eighth all-time with 1,952 games as coach, while ranking 13th in wins and fourth in losses; he has the most wins of eligible coaches not currently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In 25 seasons as a coach, he reached the postseason fourteen times. Known as a strict disciplinarian with high expectations for his players, Motta developed a reputation for putting together well-conditioned, tough, physical teams. He was known for his eccentric personality and fiery temper, which included infamously throwing his jacket at a referee, kicking a basketball into the stands and throwing a dollar bill onto the court and demanding it to play after a GM traded one of his players for cash considerations. He retired from coaching in 1997 and ran a bed and breakfast with his wife in Bear Lake, Idaho. Early coaching career After graduating from Utah State University in Logan, Motta started coaching at Grace High School in Grace, Idaho, where he taught seventh grade and coached for two years before being drafted in the armed services, then returned. He once said in an interview that winning the state championship (AA) at Grace in 1959 was his greatest thrill as a coach, even topping the NBA championship he won two decades later. Motta coached at Weber State in Ogden, Utah. Under the direction of Motta and assistant coach Phil Johnson, Weber State won three Big Sky Conference championships (1965, 1966, 1968) NBA coaching career Chicago Bulls (1968–1976) Motta was hired as head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1968 after a six-year stint at Weber State. He replaced Johnny Kerr, who had led the team to two playoff appearances despite subpar records of 33-48 and 29-53, respectively. Motta coached the team for eight seasons, coaching 656 games. From 1970 to 1974 he led the Bulls to four consecutive 50 win seasons, winning the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 1971. However this did not translate to playoff success as the Bulls won just one playoff series (1974) in that span. However, they advanced to the Conference Finals in the 1974-75 season, beating