Wayne Embry first played against and then played for late Milwaukee Bucks coach Larry Costello. Later, Embry became an executive of the team Costello coached.

"It was a privilege to have played for him and a privilege to have worked with him all the years that I did," Embry said.

Costello, the Milwaukee Bucks' first coach and the only coach to help bring the Bucks a championship, died Tuesday at the age of 70.

Embry, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member, played for Costello in Milwaukee's first year as a franchise, 1968-'69. In 1972, Embry joined the Bucks as vice president and general manager, the first black to become a general manager in pro sports. Embry is in his second year as a consultant with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he served as vice president and general manager since 1986.

"If you can underrate a great coach, he was underrated as a great coach," Embry said of Costello. "It was because, people say, he had Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and Oscar (Robertson). Therefore, he should have won. He had one of the top three or four centers to ever play the game. One of the top two or three guards to ever play the game. So, right away, people thought he should have won. Because you have two superstars on the team doesn't necessarily mean you are going to win championships. You still have to coach them, too."