Greatest Coach Ever: NBA

[Big Sexy]

With the death of John Wooden many have talked about how he is one of if not the greatest coach of all time in any sport. He certainly is the best college basketball coach ever. With that said it got me thinking about who the greatest NBA coach of all time is. Here are some candidates.

Red Auerbach- He coached in the NBA for 17 seasons, 16 of them with the Boston Celtics. He led the Celtics to NBA titles in 9 of his last 10 seasons. He retired early at the age of 48 to become the Celtics GM, naming Bill Russell as the first ever player coach. He was just as good if not better as a GM then he was as a coach. The only knocks against him are the lack of competition back in the NBA when he was coach and the fact that he never won a title until the year he got Bill Russell. Definitely one of the greatest of all time.

Phil Jackson- He has coached in the NBA for 19 seasons, 9 with the Bulls and 10 with the Lakers. He has won 10 NBA titles and this year he will try to make it 11. He has never had a losing season as a head coach and his teams have only failed to win at least 50 games 3 times. Like Auerbach, the knock against him is the players around him. In his time with the Bulls he had a prime Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. In his first stint with the Lakers he had a prime Shaq and a young coming into his prime Kobe Bryant. Now in his second stint he has a fully primed Kobe.

Pat Riley- 24 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Lakers, Knicks, and Heat. He has won 5 titles, 4 with the showtime Lakers and 1 with the D Wade and Shaq led Heat. He ranks third on the all time coaching wins list. Again the biggest knock against him is all the talent he has been around. From the showtime Lakers, to the Ewing led Knicks, to Big Zo and then D Wade with the Heat. Still a tremendous coach who has had a winning record in 20 of his 24 years coaching.

Larry Brown- A little bit of a homer pick for me but Larry Brown is a great coach with over 1,000 wins with 9 different teams over his 26 year coaching career. He hasn't always been blessed with the greatest talent or the biggest superstar players but he always wins where ever he goes. With the exception of the Knicks he has led every franchise he has coached to the playoffs including the early 80's Nets who weren't very good, the mid 90's Clippers, and most recently the Charlotte Bobcats. He also led a Detroit Pistons team to an NBA title and back to back finals appearances with no true superstar. He does however tend to not stay with any team longer then a few years.

Chuck Daly- Even more of a homer pick for me but whatever. Coached for 14 seasons and only had a losing record in his first year coaching with Cleveland and even then he was only the coach for half the season. So he never had a losing record as a full time head coach. He also only failed to make the playoffs once in his 13 full seasons. He led the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons to three straight NBA finals and back to back titles from 1988-1990. He'd have three titles if it wasn't for a phantom call on Bill Laimbeer in 1988. He was a hard nosed coach who was able to lead his team to victory over the mighty Celtics, the Showtime Lakers, and the young upstart Chicago Bulls. He coached during a tough time to win NBA titles and was able to do it anyways.

Other candidates include Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson, Jerry Sloan, etc.

My pick is Chuck Daly, what's yours?

 

[Cmpunk is wwe]

Your list is perfect accept I would add Don nelson because he has the most wins in nba history And he has coached a lot of good teams. Also he discoverd one of the best powerforwards ever in dirk nowitzki.

 

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

With the death of John Wooden many have talked about how he is one of if not the greatest coach of all time in any sport. He certainly is the best college basketball coach ever. With that said it got me thinking about who the greatest NBA coach of all time is. Here are some candidates.

May he rest in peace. Great coach, better man.

Red Auerbach- He coached in the NBA for 17 seasons, 16 of them with the Boston Celtics. He led the Celtics to NBA titles in 9 of his last 10 seasons. He retired early at the age of 48 to become the Celtics GM, naming Bill Russell as the first ever player coach. He was just as good if not better as a GM then he was as a coach. The only knocks against him are the lack of competition back in the NBA when he was coach and the fact that he never won a title until the year he got Bill Russell. Definitely one of the greatest of all time.

You already said it, he only won with Bill Russell and it was back in the day without much competion.

Phil Jackson- He has coached in the NBA for 19 seasons, 9 with the Bulls and 10 with the Lakers. He has won 10 NBA titles and this year he will try to make it 11. He has never had a losing season as a head coach and his teams have only failed to win at least 50 games 3 times. Like Auerbach, the knock against him is the players around him. In his time with the Bulls he had a prime Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. In his first stint with the Lakers he had a prime Shaq and a young coming into his prime Kobe Bryant. Now in his second stint he has a fully primed Kobe.

Again you already said why he isn't the greatest coach of all time, he's called the Zen Master for a reason. He manages big egos and runs the triangle, which is essentially letting the coach on the floor make the decisions.

Pat Riley- 24 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Lakers, Knicks, and Heat. He has won 5 titles, 4 with the showtime Lakers and 1 with the D Wade and Shaq led Heat. He ranks third on the all time coaching wins list. Again the biggest knock against him is all the talent he has been around. From the showtime Lakers, to the Ewing led Knicks, to Big Zo and then D Wade with the Heat. Still a tremendous coach who has had a winning record in 20 of his 24 years coaching.

I'd put Riley ahead of the previous two even though he has the same knock against him that they do. He has done it with more teams against some tougher competion.

Larry Brown- A little bit of a homer pick for me but Larry Brown is a great coach with over 1,000 wins with 9 different teams over his 26 year coaching career. He hasn't always been blessed with the greatest talent or the biggest superstar players but he always wins where ever he goes. He has led every franchise he has coached to the playoffs including the early 80's Nets who weren't very good, the mid 90's Clippers, and most recently the Charlotte Bobcats. He also led a Detroit Pistons team to an NBA title and back to back finals appearances with no true superstar. He does however tend to not stay with any team longer then a few years.

Best coach of the bunch right here. The guy wins everywhere he goes with less talent than anyone. When you win a championship against the Shaq and Kobe Lakers with a center named Ben Wallace you know you're a great coach. Brown failed miserably in New York but that has been the exception, and no one has won there in a long time. Now he has lead the lowly Charlotte Bobcats to the playoffs with his main "superstar" being a glorified slasher in Gerald Wallace. Give Brown a guy named Wallace and he wins I'm giving the award to Larry Brown because he really is the best coach, he can coach anyone, anywhere, with any amount of talent and be sucsessful.

Chuck Daly- Even more of a homer pick for me but whatever. Coached for 14 seasons and only had a losing record in his first year coaching with Cleveland and even then he was only the coach for half the season. So he never had a losing record as a full time head coach. He also only failed to make the playoffs once in his 13 full seasons. He led the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons to three straight NBA finals and back to back titles from 1988-1990. He'd have three title if it wasn't for a phantom call on Bill Laimbeer in 1988. He was a hard nosed coach who was able to lead his team to victory over the mighty Celtics, the Showtime Lakers, and the young upstart Chicago Bulls. He coached during a tough time to win NBA titles and was able to do it anyways.

Daly had the toughest competion and suceeded, I gave Brown the edge though because he actually coaches more than the others, not to say they aren't all great coaches, they have all always been blessed with great talent and a GM that gives them what they want.

Other candidates include Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson, Jerry Sloan, etc.

My pick is Chuck Daly, what's yours?

Larry Brown

 

[thepalaceprince]

To me this isnt even a question the rings dont lie its phil jackson. People say anyone could win a title with jordan and pippen well doug collins couldnt so that arguments doesnt mean crap me. People have said well anyone could win a title with kobe and shaq well kurt rambis couldnt so once again that arguments just dumb. Phil has done an incredible job of maximizing talent and getting the most out of players like shannon brown. Plus as I said before the rings dont lie its gotta be phil

 

[Big Sexy]

People say anyone could win a title with jordan and pippen well doug collins couldnt so that arguments doesnt mean crap me.

Collins only coached Pippen and Jordan together during Pippen's rookie and second seasons. Phil Jackson started winning titles with them when Pippen was just sarting to enter his prime during his fourth season. If Collins stayed with the Bulls another couple yeras I believe he would have had the same success as Phil.

People have said well anyone could win a title with kobe and shaq well kurt rambis couldnt so once again that arguments just dumb.

Again Rambis only had one year with the Lakers and it was the shortened 1999 season. Plus Rambis isn't exactly the greatest coach. No one is saying Phil isn't great, I'm just not sure he's the greatest of all time.

 

[gd]

I'd say it has to be Phil, no question. This year is the something like the 13th time he's been coaching in the finals in the last 19 years. That's just incredible, regardless of the players you have. Sure, they help a ton, but being that consistent and winning that much is just incredible. It's tough to argue with ten titles. Jackson has to be my choice.

 

[jmt225]

Rick Adelman.

This year was only the third time in 19 seasons as a head coach where he didn't make the playoffs. However, in a very tough Western Conference, he still almost made it, even with losing Ron Artest to free agency and Yao Ming to injury.

The fact of the matter is, Rick Adelman has done more with "bad" teams than any coach in history. Just last year, with his best player injured, he managed to lead Rockets to take the eventual Champions to 7 games. The guy is just a phenomenal coach. Some might argue that he never win a championship, well... I call bullshit on that claim. He should have won one in 2002, but he and his team were fucking screwed by the referees in the Western Conference Finals. That's not an opinion, but an indisputable fact.

But yeah... no official championship or not, I firmly believe Adelman is the greatest to ever coach in the NBA. You put any coaches on the teams he has had, and I GUARANTEE they're nowhere near as successful.

 

[Big Sexy]

Rick Adelman.

This year was only the third time in 19 seasons as a head coach where he didn't make the playoffs. However, in a very tough Western Conference, he still almost made it, even with losing Ron Artest to free agency and Yao Ming to injury.

The fact of the matter is, Rick Adelman has done more with "bad" teams than any coach in history. Just last year, with his best player injured, he managed to lead Rockets to take the eventual Champions to 7 games. The guy is just a phenomenal coach. Some might argue that he never win a championship, well... I call bullshit on that claim. He should have won one in 2002, but he and his team were fucking screwed by the referees in the Western Conference Finals. That's not an opinion, but an indisputable fact.

But yeah... no official championship or not, I firmly believe Adelman is the greatest to ever coach in the NBA. You put any coaches on the teams he has had, and I GUARANTEE they're nowhere near as successful.

Rick Adelman is a great coach and worth mentioning but no way has he done more with bad teams then a guy like Larry Brown. Adelman did a tremendous last year with Houston taking the Lakers to 7 games after losing Yao and being down 2 games to 1 but they did lose.

Also Adelman had plenty of talent in Portland and especially in Sacramento. In Portland he had a tremendous back court of Terry Porter and Clyde Drexler. He had a very good veteran big man in Buck Williams and also a great sixth man in Cliff Robinson. Those teams did overachieve somewhat but the Westren Conference was also the weak conference at that time. The showtime Lakers were gone, the Suns didn't have Barkley yet, and the Jazz were just a two man team with no depth at that point.

In Sacramento he had a ton of talent. A starting line up that included Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Peja, Vlade Divac, and Chris fucking Webber. Plus a solid bench that had Bobby Jackson, a young Hedo Turkoglu, and a young Gerald Wallace. The only times he's really had a big lack of talent was in Houston with the injuries to Yao and T Mac.

 

[jmt225]

Also Adelman had plenty of talent in Portland and especially in Sacramento. In Portland he had a tremendous back court of Terry Porter and Clyde Drexler. He had a very good veteran big man in Buck Williams and also a great sixth man in Cliff Robinson. Those teams did overachieve somewhat but the Westren Conference was also the weak conference at that time. The showtime Lakers were gone, the Suns didn't have Barkley yet, and the Jazz were just a two man team with no depth at that point.

Man, I have to disagree. Aldeman got more out of that Portland team than anyone ever could have, in my opinion. You say the Western Conference was weak, well that's false, dude. The first time they made it to the championship, the showtime Lakers were around. Hell, Magic Johnson was MVP that year. Also, Karl Malone and John Stockton were still Karl Malone and John Stockton. Moreover, the Spurs were really good at the time as well.

You can't underestimate what Adelman was able to do with that team. Did they have talent? Sure, but you look at that roster and compare it to the other great teams around that time, there's no way you pick them to compete against the Bad Boy Pistons and Jordan Bulls for the championship.

In Sacramento he had a ton of talent. A starting line up that included Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Peja, Vlade Divac, and Chris fucking Webber. Plus a solid bench that had Bobby Jackson, a young Hedo Turkoglu, and a young Gerald Wallace. The only times he's really had a big lack of talent was in Houston with the injuries to Yao and T Mac.

Oh, I completely agree here. However, while those guys were fucking AWESOME, I don't think there would have been any way they could have meshed as well as they did without Adelman as their head coach. Adelman implemented the absolute PERFECT system with that team, and if they hadn't got screwed in the 2002 WCF, and if Webber didn't get severly injured the year after, there's no telling how many championships Adelman would have won with that team.

Also, even after the Kings were dismantled, Adelman was able to keep leading that team to the playoffs. However, since his departure, they haven't made it since.

 

[Big Sexy]

You say the Western Conference was weak, well that's false, dude.

It said it was the weaker conference at that point and compared to other eras it was fairly weak in the early 90's.

The first time they made it to the championship, the showtime Lakers were around. Hell, Magic Johnson was MVP that year.

Yes but Portland didn't have to face them because the Lakers got upset in the second round by the Suns.

Also, Karl Malone and John Stockton were still Karl Malone and John Stockton.

Again yes but those Utah teams were no where near as good as the mid to late 90's teams were. Outside of Stockton and Malone they had guys like Thurl bailey and Blue Edwards. Jeff Malone was the only other good player on those teams.

Moreover, the Spurs were really good at the time as well.

That team was almost all a young David Robinson. Terry Cummings was a good player and they had a very young Rod Strickland for two of those years but overall I'd say Portland had just as much if not more talent then every team they faced in the playoffs during their runs to the finals. Once Robinson matured in San Antonio, Houston started adding more talent alongside Olajuwon, and Barkley went to Phoenix, Portland was bounced in the first round a couple years in a row.

You can't underestimate what Adelman was able to do with that team. Did they have talent? Sure, but you look at that roster and compare it to the other great teams around that time, there's no way you pick them to compete against the Bad Boy Pistons and Jordan Bulls for the championship.

Which is why they lost those series. I'm not saying Adelman isn't a great coach because he is but I don't consider him the best ever by any means.

Oh, I completely agree here. However, while those guys were fucking AWESOME, I don't think there would have been any way they could have meshed as well as they did without Adelman as their head coach. Adelman implemented the absolute PERFECT system with that team, and if they hadn't got screwed in the 2002 WCF, and if Webber didn't get severly injured the year after, there's no telling how many championships Adelman would have won with that team.

I agree, and like I said I think Adelman is a tremendous coach and I have a ton of respect for him. I just wouldn't place him at the top when talking about the greatest of all time.

 

[Platypus Palsy]

I'm gonna have to fall back onto the rings of Phil Jackson here, and that's something I don't like to do. Usually the guy with the most rings isn't the best, but in this case, Phil is the best. He can manage egos the best of any coach and make them work together to win. He may have had the great talent, but his teams were always full of guys who could be the guy on a team, and he got them to work with each other.

 

[Davi323]

Chuck Daly also didn't have a single true "superstar" on the team. Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars were very, very good...but they weren't Magic, Larry or Michael. But he got them to gel together as a TEAM. (I also have to give mad homer love for the Bad Boys, even if I am in GR....)

But, really, I would have to go with Red Auerbach. Quite simply, the Celtic Dynasty was something that will never, ever be repeated.