On February 28, 1973, Chaney set a career high in points score with 32, in a win over the Golden State Warriors.

Chaney was widely known for his defensive skills, appearing on NBA all-defensive teams five times during his career.

On March 13, 1985, Chaney was hired by the Los Angeles Clippers, replacing Jim Lynam with 21 games left in the 1984–85 season.

It was noted at the time that he was just the twelfth African American head coach in the NBA (of the twelve, ten were former players, and five had played for the Celtics).

[6][7] On June 13, 1988, Chaney was hired by the Houston Rockets as head coach to replace Bill Fitch, who had been fired one week ago.

The Rockets played at .500 ball for the first half of the season but found themselves in a bind when Hakeem Olajuwon suffered a bone fracture in his right eye in January 1991 that saw him miss 25 games.

Composed of aging superstars such as Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer to go with new acquisitions such as Sean Elliott and draft pick Lindsey Hunter, the Pistons struggled after a 5–4 start.

[14] In the 2001–02 season, Chaney was serving as assistant head coach for the New York Knicks under Jeff Van Gundy.

On December 10, 2001, Chaney became head coach of the Knicks to replace Van Gundy, who cited a "diminished focus" as a reason for resigning after 19 games.

Noting the demands of owner James L. Dolan, Chaney stated that his goals were to win and make the playoffs.

[15] The team went 20-43 under Chaney as head coach for a total finish of 30–52, an eighteen-loss avalanche that saw miss the playoffs for the first time in fifteen years.

As such, with a lineup of Allan Houston and company, the Knicks started the year 2-10 and never recover to make a serious run, with a 37–45 final record seeing them finish five games out of the eight seed.

Not long after, the Knicks traded for Stephon Marbury to try and right the ship of a miserable year that saw them mired in 10th place in the Eastern Conference 38 games into the season despite the highest payroll in the league.

It came to a head during a January 8 game at Madison Square Garden where Knicks fans chanted "Fire Chaney!"

Chaney during his coaching days was known for partaking in new "daredevil"-esque stunts just to see what they were like, including skydiving and racecar driving.

[19] In 2019, he was diagnosed with Transthyretim Amyloid cardiomyopathy, a rare but possibly deadly disease that disproportionately impacts African Americans.

He had assumed that his symptoms (fatigue, palpitations, shortness of breath and swollen ankles) were from his playing days, but he found that they matched with what family members had been experiencing before their death from heart disease.