Charley Rosen, longtime Phil Jackson confidant and basketball author, dies at 84

Charley Rosen, the former coach, author and close friend of Phil Jackson, has died at the age of 84.

His family announced the news early Saturday morning, saying Rosen passed at 4:38 a.m.

“I’m sure all of your love helped him let go,” read a post shared to Rosen’s Facebook page.

Rosen was as much a basketball lifer as anyone. A 6-foot-8 standout at Hunter College in New York, he dominated the program from 1959–62, setting school records in scoring and rebounding while winning MVP honors three straight years.

He later played in the old Eastern Professional Basketball League and won a gold medal alongside Larry Brown and Art Heyman at the 1961 Maccabiah Games.

He went on to coach at Bard College and New Paltz before becoming an assistant under Phil Jackson with the Albany Patroons in the 1980s, later taking head coaching roles in the CBA.

He eventually turned his storytelling toward the game, writing 16 books on basketball and offering sharp, often caustic analysis for outlets like Fox Sports and HoopsHype.

Two of his novels — Barney Polan’s Game and The House of Moses All-Stars — were named New York Times Notable Books.