TOP 10 COACHES IN NBA HISTORY

Welcome Basketball Fans!

Coaches have come and gone, some of them have enjoyed success while some of them have failed miserably. Although every person to coach in the NBA has a spot that no one else can fill. Here I present you my list of the TOP 10 COACHES IN THE NBA HISTORY. Feel free to share your opinions below and also don't forget check out my Instagram handle @hoop.hustle where I post amazing basketball content. Before I jump on to the actual list herun. re some of the honourable mentions that didn't make it to the list.

MISSED THE LIST

1. DON NELSON

Milwaukee Bucks (1976-87)

Golden State Warriors (1988-95)

New York Knicks (1995-96)

Dallas Mavericks (1997-05)

Golden State Warriors (2006-10)

Overall Record: 1,335-1,063 (regular season), 75-91 (playoffs)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 2012

Nelson was named Coach of the Year three times and pioneered the point forward concept. Oh, and his 1,335 wins are the most of any coach in NBA history.

2. JERRY SLOAN

Chicago Bulls (1979-82)

Utah Jazz (1988-2011)

Overall Record: 1,221-803 (regular season), 98-104 (playoffs)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 2009

Sloan coached the Jazz for 23 seasons and to more than 1,000 wins. In the era of fickle fan bases, that is a true testament to consistency.

That being said lets move on to our actual list. But before you scroll down be sure to checkout my instagram handle @hoop.hustle where I post some of the most amazing basketball content

TOP 10 COACHES IN NBA HISTORY 

10. STEVE KERR

Golden State Warriors (2014-present)

Overall Record: 322-108 (regular season), 77-28 (playoffs)

Championships: 3 (2015, '17, '18)

Some people may call me delusional to place Kerr so high but with 3 championships in 6 campaigns, Kerr has already started strong. Steve Kerr led Golden State Warriors ended their franchise drought by winning a championship after 40 years and almost pulled a 3peat in 18/19 season but were held by the Raptors. The Warriors have qualified for the playoffs every season except for the 19/20 season under the management of Steve Kerr. Another factor that puts Kerr on the 10th spot on my list is being able to assemble and manage one of the greatest rosters of all time. When your roster is compared with the 90's Bulls you know that you have cooked something special. Keeping aside the horrific 19/20 season Kerr has started off his coaching career with a bang and may end up up top 3 given that his star players like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson stay healthy.

9. LENNY WILKENS

SuperSonics (1969-72, '77-85)

Portland Trail Blazers (1974-76)

Cleveland Cavaliers (1986-93)

Atlanta Hawks (1993-2000)

Toronto Raptors (2000-03)

New York Knicks (2004-05)

Overall Record: 1,332-1,155 (regular season), 80-98 (playoffs)

Championships: 1 (1979 SuperSonics)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 1989 (as player), '98 (coach)

Lenny Wilkens has had the longest coaching career in the NBA history. In his long 32 years spell Lenny Wilkens achieved greatness at the NBA as well as International level. He became the first coach in the NBA to win 1000 regular season games. Along with 1 NBA championship, Wilkens was NBA coach of the year in the year 1994 and was the  Head coach for 4 All-Star Games. Wilkens was also the assistant coach and head coach of U.S national team which won gold medals in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. However, although he had a long and glittering career, only one championship holds him at spot 9.

8. KC JONES

Capital/Washington Bullets (1973-76)

Boston Celtics (1983-88)

Seattle SuperSonics (1990-92)

Overall Record: 522-252 (regular season), 81-57 (playoffs)

Championships: 2 (1984, '86 Celtics)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 1989 (as player)

Jones career only lasted 10 years, however his teams were in the NBA Finals for five of them. Along with his two championships Jones has also been the coach for an All-Star game 5 Times. He has one of the best records on this entire list with 2 championships to his name, however his short career is one of the reasons he's so low. Although if his years as an assistant coach he's won many more accolades but this list isn't for assistant coaches. 

7. WILLIAM "RED" HOLZMAN

Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks (1953-1957)

New York Knicks (1967-77, ‘78-82)

Overall Record: 696-604 (regular season), 58-47 (playoffs)

Championships: 2 (1970, '73 Knicks)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 1985

Generally jersey numbers are retired to honour players however, so beloved was the success of Holzman with the New York Knicks that they actually retired the jersey number 613 to honour the number of wins Holzman enjoyed with the Knicks. Along with 2 championships to his name Holzman was also the NBA COACH OF THE YEAR in 1970 and a 2x NBA All-Star Coach in 1970 and 1971. In 1969, Holzman coached the Knicks to a then single-season NBA record 18-game win streak, breaking the 17-game record first set back in 1946. His final record was 696-604 which earns him the 7th spot on my list. 

6. ALEX HANNUM

Philadelphia 76ers (1966-68)

Oakland Oaks (1968-69) – ABA

San Diego/Denver Rockets (1969-74)

Overall Record: 649-564 (regular season), 61-46 (playoffs)

Championships: 3 (1958 Hawks; 1967 76ers; 1969 Oaks)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 1998

Hannum is one of three coaches to win NBA titles with two different teams and one of two coaches to win both an ABA and NBA title. His 1966-67 76ers snapped the Boston Celtics' eight-year title run. His accolades include 2× NBA champion (1958, 1967), NBA Coach of the Year (1964), 2× NBA All-Star Game head coach (1958, 1965), ABA champion (1969) ABA Coach of the Year (1969). Even though Hannum had a great run during his coaching career his time in the NBA was very short. This holds him at the 6th spot. 

5. JOHN KUNDLA

Minneapolis Lakers (1947-59) – In BAA until NBA merger until 1949

Overall Record: 423-302 (overall record), 60-35 (playoffs)

Championships: 5 (1949-50, '52-54)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 1995

Kundla is largely forgotten in the modern basketball era, but his Lakers were the first dynasty in NBA history. John Kundla was a 5× NBA champion (1949, 1950, 1952–1954) and 4× NBA All-Star Game head coach (1951–1954). Kundla's Lakers rosters included Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame players Mikan, Pollard, Slater Martin, Vern Mikkelsen, Clyde Lovellette, Slick Leonard, Hot Rod Hundley and Elgin Baylor, as well as Arnie Ferrin, Walter Dukes, Dick Garmaker, Frank Selvy and future Pro Football Hall of Famer and Minnesota Vikings Coach Bud Grant.Overall, Kundla was 423-302 (.583) in 11 seasons as Coach of the Minneapolis Lakers, winning the BAA Championship in 1949 and NBA Championships in 1950, 1952, 1953 and 1954.

4. PAT RILEY

Los Angeles Lakers (1981-90)

New York Knicks (1991-95)

Miami Heat (1995-2003, ‘05-08)

Overall Record: 1,210-694 (overall record), 171-111 (playoffs)

Championships: 5 (1982, '85, '87-88 Lakers; 2006 Heat)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 2008

Pat Riley is one of my favourite NBA coaches ever. Riley led the infamous "Showtime Lakers" to 4 NBA titles during the 80's.In addition to his five titles with two different teams, Riley won 50 or more games in 17 of the 24 seasons that he coached. Adding to his achievements, Riley was a 3× NBA Coach of the Year (1990, 1993, 1997) and 9× NBA All-Star Game head coach (1982, 1983, 1985–1990, 1993). In 1987, Riley coached a Lakers team that is considered one of the best teams of all-time. With future Hall of Famers Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, plus Michael Cooper, Byron Scott, A. C. Green, Mychal Thompson, and Kurt Rambis, the Lakers finished 65–17 in the regular season, third-best in team history. They met with similar success in the playoffs, dispatching the Celtics in six games to win Riley his third NBA title.

3. GREGG POPOVICH

San Antonio Spurs (1996-present)

Overall Record: 1,245-575 (overall record), 170-114 (playoffs)

Championships: 5 (1999, 2003, '05, '07, '14)

Popovich has won 68 percent of his games and five NBA titles. If he sticks around long enough, he'll pass Don Nelson (1,335) for the most regular-season wins. Some people may argue that Riley is above Popovich but Gregg Popovich proves them wrong by having a great wins percentage of 68.4 as compared to Riley's 63.6 with both of them having 5 titles each. This makes the Popovich-Riley debate very clear. However for now, Popovich hasn't achieved the greatness that has been achieved by the people who have bested him. He stays locked in at spot number 3 for now. 

2. Arnold "Red" Auerbach

Washington Capitals (1946-49) – In BAA until NBA merger in 1949

Tri-Cities Blackhawks (1949-50)

Boston Celtics (1950-66)

Overall Record: 938-479 (regular season), 99-69 (playoffs)

Championships: 9 (1957, '59-66 Celtics)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 1969. 

Auerbach is one of the most successful coaches in the NBA history with 9 titles to his name (All within 10 years with 8 of them coming back to back). His Celtics won every NBA title between the years 1959-66, only losing to Alex Hannum's 76ers in 1967. Auerbach is remembered as a pioneer of modern basketball, redefining basketball as a game dominated by team play and defense and for introducing the fast break as a potent offensive weapon. In addition to this Auerbach was also the NBA Coach of the Year in 1965 and a 11× NBA All-Star Game head coach between 1957–1967. He has been only bested by our number 1 spot holder. 

1. PHIL JACKSON

Chicago Bulls (1989-98)

Los Angeles Lakers (1999-2004, '05-11)

Overall Record: 1,155-485 (overall record), 229-104 (playoffs)

Championships: 11 (1991-93, '96-98 Bulls; 2000-02, 2009-10 Lakers)

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Class of 2007

Everyone knew who the number 1 spot holder was when they began reading this list. Phil Jackson is a NBA royalty. He can be called the 3peat maestro as he won 3peats with not one but two different teams both in different conferences. So much of coaching success in the modern NBA depends on getting superstars to play cohesively. No one did it better than Jackson. Don't be astounded but along with 11 championships ( 5 with Kobe's Lakers and 6 with Jordan's Bulls) Jackson has been a 4× NBA All-Star Game head coach (1992, 1996, 2000, 2009), NBA Coach of the Year (1996) CBA champion (1984), and CBA Coach of the Year (1985). Phil "Zen Master" Jackson's 11 NBA titles as a coach surpassed the previous record of nine set by Red Auerbach. He also holds the NBA record for the most combined championships, winning a total of 13 as a player and a coach. During his 20 year career Jackson coached 1,640 games out of which he won 1,155 games achieving a win % of  70.4%. Phil Jackson is the actual GOAT. 

This ends my list for THE TOP 10 COACHES IN THE NBA HISTORY. Do you agree with my list? Share your opinion in the comments section below. Also be sure to checkout my Instagram handle @hoop.hustle where I post some of the most amazing basketball content. Thank you for reading and have a great day ahead.