The celebrations for the NBA’s 75-year history continued with the announcement on Wednesday of the 15 best coaches to have ever graced the league. Votes from 43 NBA head coaches, drawn from the current and former ones decided the list, with four among them named in the list of the all-time best.
Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra, and Doc Rivers, who hold a combined 11 Champions titles as coaches are the four currently active NBA coaches rubbing shoulders with the crème de crème.
The full list as voted by the coaches, along with the National Basketball Coaches Association and Executive Director David Fogel, has Red Auerbach, K.C. Jones, Pat Riley, Larry Brown, Steve Kerr, Doc Rivers, Chuck Daly, Don Nelson, Jerry Sloan, Red Holzman, Gregg Popovich, Erik Spoelstra, Phil Jackson, Jack Ramsay and Lenny Wilkens.
Gregg Popovich
The easily recognizable coach has very few to match his credentials and part of the reason the SportyTrader NBA Predictions often place San Antonio Spurs high is down to this man. The team has five NBA Championships, and all have been won during his tenure as coach. He has held the position since 1996, and he is more than just the coach, he is also the president of the San Antonio Spurs. In the NBA and all major sports leagues in the USA, Popovich is the coach with the longest tenure among active coaches and his experience in the game has also seen him handle the US national team.
Steve Kerr
Here’s another great in the game of basketball, and NBA precisely. Kerr has won eight Championships, five as a player and three as a coach, which gives him a place among the all-time best coaches in the NBA. Currently, with the Golden State Warriors, Kerr led the team to win the 2015, 2017 and 2018 Championships.
Erik Spoelstra
Another of the top coaches currently active in the NBA is Erik Spoelstra. He has two championships but, on his profile, he stands out for having led Miami Heat to the finals in four consecutive years, from 2011 all the way to 2014. He won the 2012 and the 2013 titles, and also became the first Asian-American coach to win the NBA title.
Doc Rivers
He started his coaching career in 1999 and at the completion of his first season as coach, Doc Rivers was named the year 2000 NBA Coach of the Year while handling the Orlando Magic. Among the active men on the list of top NBA coaches, Rivers is the one with the fewest titles, he has won just one, the 2008 one with Boston Celtics. He is currently the coach at Philadelphia 76ers but has also handled Los Angeles Clippers.
The total championships won among the 15 coaches named in the list is 44 with the coaches with multiple championships being Phil Jackson (11), Red Auerbach (9), Gregg Popovich (5), Pat Riley (5), Steve Kerr (3), K.C. Jones, Erik Spoelstra, Chuck Daly, Red Holzman (2).
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