Tex Winter, the architect of the triangle offense and a huge part of the Bulls' dynasty in the 90s, died at the age of 96 on Wednesday afternoon.
Winter is most known in Chicago for his stint as an assistant coach for the Bulls from 1985-1998, including the six championships under Phil Jackson. Before that he was a college coach for 30 years, leading Marquette, Kansas State, Washington, Northwestern and Long Beach State. He was also a head coach for the Houston Rockets for two seasons in the 1970s and later followed Jackson to the Lakers from 1999-2008.
Winter is a member of both the College Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The Bulls made the announcement on Wednesday and released a statement from John Paxson, who played under Winter for nine seasons with the Bulls.
"Tex Winter was a basketball legend and perhaps the finest fundamental teacher in the history of our game," Paxson said. "He was an innovator who had high standards for how basketball should be played and approached everyday. Those of us who were lucky enough to play for him will always respect his devotion to the game of basketball. His contributions to the Bulls organization will always be remembered."
Will Perdue was one of Paxson's teammates with the Bulls in that era. Perdue said hearing the news and seeing Paxson's statement brought him back to his rookie year.
“It just kind of made me think about my rookie year," Perdue told NBC Sports Chicago. "When I was there his approach was a little unorthodox when you would kind of step back and think about what he was asking us to do and he was trying to help you. You realized he himself throughout his whole career was a student of the game. He had written books, he created the triangle, the triple post, whatever you want to call it. The best statement about him, I think it was from Jerry Krause, was Tex Winter has forgotten more basketball than any of us will ever know. I think that about sums it up.”
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Stacey King, who was a member of the Bulls' first three NBA championship teams in the early 90s, talked about Winter on the NBC Sports Chicago broadcast of Wednesday's Bulls-Pacers preseason game.
“It’s really sad news," King said on the broadcast. "Tex was so instrumental in the Bulls’ success in those championship runs with the triangle offense. He does not get enough credit for being the guy who orchestrated that offense. Just a great human being and one of my favorite coaches I’ve ever played for.
“They said his offense would never work at the pro level. It’s funny you look at the game now and how it’s evolved. Not only did the Bulls win six championships, but every team in the NBA currently is running some kind of part of that offense. Not the whole triangle, but some pieces of it.”
Winter's triangle offense worked wonders for Michael Jordan and the Bulls. That offense is part of Winter's lasting legacy, but the players he coached remember more than the Xs and Os.
“Tex Winter came up with the triple post or the triangle offense, but being able to be with him everyday, the knowledge of the game, he taught me some things as a player of what I needed to do in the post," Perdue said. "He was as fundamental as they get. He used to always talk about how guys can be athletic, but until they truly learn the fundamentals of the game they won’t be as good as they can be. He didn’t care who it was, whether it was me, Michael Jordan, he would get on guys about not cutting corners, how to approach the game, how to practice. It didn’t matter the name on the jersey. He just looked at you as someone who he could help.”