Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts on Friday paid tribute to his predecessor, Hall of Famer Jack Ramsey, by wearing a plaid jacket during the Blazers' 102-94 home win over the Utah Jazz. Ramsey was celebrating his 89th birthday on the same day.
"I wanted to do a tribute sometime to Coach [Jack] Ramsay," SI.com quoted Stotts as declaring after the game. "I didn't know when it would be." According to Stotts, his wife helped him find the plaid jacket by shopping on eBay.
The jacket was enough for Stotts to earn social media attention that he trended on Twitter.
Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard said about Stotts' tribute: "Our whole team respected it. We understood it. He was showing respect to a past Trail Blazers coach, the only coach who has won a championship. It was kind of fun with that relaxed look. To see him do something like that, I think it was cool."
His teammate, center Robin Lopez, had a more straightforward assessment saying: "I'm not much of a fashionista but I think he was able to pull it off."
Ramsay was the Blazers coach from 1976 to 1986, piloting the franchise to its only championship in 1977. He was a fitness buff and also showed a lot of flair in terms of fashion. He retired in 1988 with a career record of 864-783. Four year later, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He then went on to become a successful broadcaster, quitting last year due to mounting health issues.
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