Former player and longtime general manager Bob Ferry has died at the age of 84, Washington Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. announced Wednesday.
Ferry was a two-time executive of the year (1978-79, 1981-82) who led the then-Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA title, one of three NBA Finals under his guidance. He led the Bullets to the playoffs 13 times in 17 seasons as GM.
Ferry is also the father of former Duke standout, NBA player and executive Danny Ferry.
The elder Ferry was the Bullets’ GM from 1973-1990, becoming the second general manager to hire two different Black coaches — K.C. Jones (1973) and Wes Unseld (1988).
Ferry was drafted No. 7 overall in the 1959 draft by the St. Louis Hawks. He averaged 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in 10 seasons with the Hawks (1959-60), Detroit Pistons (1960-64) and Baltimore Bullets (1964-69).
The Baltimore Bullets became the Capital Bullets in 1973 before becoming the Washington Bullets in 1974. The franchise dropped Bullets and became the Wizards in 1997.
–Field Level Media