Red Holzman William `` Red '' Holzman ( August 10 1920  –  November 13 1998 ) was an NBA basketball player and coach probably best known as the head coach of the New York Knicks from 1967 to 1982 . Holzman helped lead the Knicks to two NBA Championships in 1970 and 1973 , and was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985 . Early career Born in Brooklyn , New York in 1920 , Holzman played basketball for Franklin K. Lane High School in the mid- 1930s . He attended the University of Baltimore and later the City College of New York , where he played for two years until graduation in 1942 . Holzman joined the United States Navy in the same year , and played on the Norfolk , Virginia Naval Base team for two years . Professional career Holzman was discharged from the Navy in 1945 and subsequently joined the NBL Rochester Royals , which won the NBL championship in Holzman 's first season . Holzman stayed with the team through their move to the NBA and subsequent NBA championship in 1951 . In 1953 , Holzman left the Royals and joined the Milwaukee Hawks as a player-coach , eventually retiring as a player in 1954 but continuing as the team 's head coach . During the 1956 – 1957 season , Holzman led the Hawks ( then in St . Louis , Missouri ) to 19 losses during their first 33 games , and was subsequently fired . In 1957 , Holzman became assistant coach of the New York Knicks for a stretch of ten years ending in 1967 , whereupon he became the team 's head coach for the most part until 1982 . ( Holzman 's former player , Willis Reed , replaced him as Knick 's head coach in 1977 , but Holzman returned near the start of the 1978 – 1979 season. ) During this 15-year span as Knicks ' coach , Holzman won a total of 613 games , including two NBA championships in 1970 and 1973 . For his efforts leading up to the Knicks ' 1970 championship win , Holzman was named the NBA Coach of the Year for that year . He was one of very few players and coaches to have won an NBA championship as both player and coach . As a coach , his final record was 696 wins and 604 losses . In 1985 , he was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame . Following his lengthy NBA coaching career , Holzman was diagnosed with leukemia and died in New Hyde Park , New York in 1998 . External links William `` Red '' Holzman , from the Basketball Hall of Fame `` Red '' ( William ) Holzman , biography from HickokSports.com New York Knicks 1972-73 NBA Champions Barnett | Bibby | Bradley | DeBusschere | Frazier | Gianelli | Jackson | Lucas | Meminger | Monroe | Reed ( Finals MVP ) | Wingo | Coach Holzman New York Knicks 1969-70 NBA Champions Barnett | Bowman | Bradley | DeBusschere | Frazier | Hosket | May | Reed ( Finals MVP ) | Riordan | C. Russell | Stallworth | Warren | Coach Holzman Preceded by : Andrew Levane St . Louis/Milwaukee Hawks Head Coach 1954–1956 Succeeded by : Slater Martin Preceded by : Dick McGuire New York Knicks Head Coach 1968–1977 Succeeded by : Willis Reed Preceded by : Willis Reed New York Knicks Head Coach 1978–1982 Succeeded by : Hubie Brown National Basketball Association | Top Ten Coaches in NBA History Red Auerbach | Chuck Daly | Bill Fitch | Red Holzman | Phil Jackson | John Kundla | Don Nelson | Jack Ramsay | Pat Riley | Lenny Wilkens Categories : 1920 births | 1998 deaths | Basketball Hall of Fame | American basketball coaches | American basketball players | CCNY Beavers men 's basketball players | Rochester Royals players | Milwaukee Hawks players | Milwaukee Hawks coaches | St . Louis Hawks coaches | New York Knicks coaches | University of Baltimore alumni | City University of New York people In other languages : Deutsch | 日本語 St . Louis/Milwaukee Hawks Head Coach Andrew Levane 1954–1956 Slater Martin New York Knicks Head Coach Dick McGuire 1968–1977 Willis Reed New York Knicks Head Coach Willis Reed 1978–1982 Hubie Brown 