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A Basketball match is ongoing. By Benoît Prieur

Top 10 Famous Basketball Coaches of all Time

In 1891, James Naismith, a Canadian-born American, invented basketball and became the first basketball coach. He taught basketball to his soldiers as a National Guard chaplain with the First Kansas Infantry Regiment in order for them to channel their excess energy. This strategy not only improved the soldiers’ morale but also reduced instances of indiscipline among them. Basketball coaching ethics, strategies, and practices are no different than those of any other sport. An ideal coach is one who understands the strengths and weaknesses of individual team members and uses each one of them, even the weaknesses, to the benefit of the team’s ultimate goal of victory. Discover Walks introduces you to the coaches who have gone down in basketball history as the most famous ones.

1. Red Auerbach

Red Auerbach. Picture By City of Boston Archives.

Arnold Jacob ‘Red’ Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) is widely regarded as the most successful team official in the history of North American professional sports. He is also known as the ‘pioneer of modern basketball.

Auerbach is credited with redefining basketball as a sport characterized by teamwork and defense. He pioneered the ‘fast break,’ an offensive strategy in basketball. Auerbach was instrumental in developing many basketball players who were later inducted into the ‘Basketball Hall of Fame.’

Auerbach broke down color barriers in the NBA when he drafted the first African-American NBA player, Chuck Cooper. For many, his signature move of smoking a cigar before every game he thought would be an easy win became the “ultimate symbol of victory.” In 1967, the ‘NBA Coach of the Year Award has renamed the ‘Red Auerbach Trophy.’

READ MORE ABOUT THE GREATEST NBA PLAYERS OF ALL TIME

2. Pat Riley

Pat Riley, Picture By Department of Defense

Patrick James ‘Pat’ Riley, a former coach and player, is now an executive in the American professional basketball league. Pat Riley, the current president of the Miami Heat, has had a very successful career as an NBA head coach and is widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time.

In 1996, he was named one of the ten greatest coaches in NBA history. His most recent accomplishments include winning the NBA championships with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013.

In 2012, Riley received the Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award. Riley has a fantastic regular-season win-loss record of 1210-694 (.636) and a playoff record of 171-111 (.606). Pat Riley is North America’s first and only sports legend who has won an NBA championship as a player, assistant coach, head coach, and executive.

3. Lenny Wilkens

Lenny Wilkens. Picture By Sgt. Samuel Morse.

From the 1994-1995 season to the 2009-2010 season, Leonard Randolph ‘Lenny’ Wilkens, a former basketball player and retired American coach with the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as a retired professional coach, was the all-time winningest coach in NBA history.

Wilkens has also been named one of the Top 10 NBA Coaches of All Time. Wilkens, the first coach to reach 1,000 career victories, retired with a 1332-1155 regular-season win-loss record.

Lenny Wilkens was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame three times: once as a player in 1989, once as a coach in 1998, and once as a member of the United States Olympic Dream Team’ in 1992. A good basketball coach can lead a team to victory while also teaching them how to be gracious losers.

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4. Jack Ramsay

John T. ‘Jack’ Ramsay is a former basketball coach who is better known as ‘Dr.Jack’ due to his doctorate. His professional career began as the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, with whom he won the NBA championship in his first season. He then moved on to become the head coach of the Buffalo Braves, where he was not very successful.

However, his next position as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers benefited both him and the team. In their six-year history, the team had never made the playoffs or won a championship. 

Ramsay’s leadership led them to their lone NBA championship. In 1992, Jack Ramsay was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was named one of the top ten coaches in NBA history.

5. Don Nelson

Don Nelson. Picture By Sean P. Anderson

Don Nelson, born Donald Arvid ‘Don’ Nelson on May 15, 1940, is widely regarded as an innovator who introduced the concept of ‘point forward’ to the sport of basketball, a strategy that is now used by every team.

One of his record-breaking stints was when he surpassed Lenny Wilkens for the most all-time NBA wins (1335). He has worked as a coach for the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, and Dallas Mavericks. Nelson, who had an all-time win-loss record of 1335-1063, was known for his unconventional and innovative basketball philosophy.

He is credited with inventing the ‘Hack-a-Shaq’ defense strategy, which is widely used in the NBA. Don Nelson broke Lenny Wilkens’ record in 2010, becoming the head coach with the most NBA championships and ranking first all-time on the NBA’s winningest coaches list.

6. John Kundla

John Kundla, born John Albert Kundla on July 3, 1916, is an American NBA head coach best known for his work with the Los Angeles Lakers. He left his position as head coach of the Minneapolis Lakers to coach the Minnesota Gophers for nine years until he retired.

It’s worth noting that Kundla initially turned down the Minneapolis Lakers’ offer to train them as their head coach because he wasn’t impressed with their professional ranks. Later, a salary increase was all that was required to bring him on board as head coach.
John Kundla was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995, and he is still the club’s oldest living member.

7. Red Holzman

He is best known for being the head coach of the New York Knicks (1967 – 1982). He led the Knicks to a single-season NBA win streak of 18 games, breaking a 17-game record set in 1946.

Holzman was one of the few people to have won NBA championships both as a player and as a coach. He had a 696-604 win-loss record as a basketball head coach.

He won 613 games as the head coach of the New York Knicks during his 15-year tenure. The team retired the number 613 in honor of Holzman, to equal their number of victories under his leadership. The number 613 (Red Holzman’s wins as head coach) has been retired in his honor by the New York Knicks.

8. Bill Fitch

William Charles ‘Bill’ Fitch is a man with many feathers in his hat. Most notably for being a success story who made teams playoff contenders over the course of his coaching career.

He was a successful former National Basketball Association head coach, as well as a drill instructor for the United States Marine Corps and a baseball coach. Fitch finished his NBA coaching career ranked fifth in all-time victories (944), but he also finished second in all-time losses (1106), trailing only Lenny Wilkens.

Under Fitch’s direction, the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship in 1981. In 1996, he was named one of the NBA’s Ten Greatest Coaches of All Time.

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9. Chuck Daly

The American basketball coach coached in the NBA for 14 years. In 1983, he was hired as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons had never previously won back-to-back NBA championships, but that changed under Daly’s direction and guidance.

During Daly’s tenure, the team not only made the playoffs every year, but they also reached the NBA finals three times and won two consecutive NBA championships (1989 and 1990). Daly, who began his coaching career in 1955, is best known for leading the Dream Team to the men’s basketball gold medal at the Summer Olympics in 1992.

His career record of 564-379 (.598) ranks thirteenth among all NBA coaches and ninth by percentage.
He was the head coach of the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Pistons to two NBA championships in a row.

10. Phil Jackson

Phil Jackson. Picture By Keith Allison.

Phil Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is one of the NBA’s most successful coaches, with the best win-loss record (1155-485). From 1989 to 1998, he coached the Bulls and led them to six NBA championships.

He left the Bulls in 1998 to become head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, a position he held from 1998 to 2010. Under his leadership, the Los Angeles Lakers won five NBA championships. Aside from his 11 championships, Jackson made famous the use of Tex Winter’s triangle offense, which he used to great success in his coaching career.

Philip Douglas ‘Phil’ Jackson, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007, is synonymous with success in basketball circles. His NBA winning percentage (.704) is the highest among all NBA head coaches.