10 Greatest Coaches in NBA History

The 10 Greatest Coaches in NBA History (German: the ten best coaches in NBA history, also: Top 10 Coaches in NBA History ) were selected by accredited journalists from the print and broadcast media in parallel to the selection of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as part of the National Basketball Association (NBA) 50th Anniversary Celebrations elected without ranking. NBA Commissioner David Stern read the list on October 29, 1996 at the Grand Hyatt New York, the former location of the Commodore Hotel where the original BAA was located- Founding treaties were signed on June 6, 1946. This reading was the prelude to the celebrations for the league anniversary over the entire season.

All ten coaches were still alive and six were still active at the time of the election. Lenny Wilkens is the only one from this selection to have been voted among the 10 Greatest Coaches in NBA History as well as the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History .

The list

Victory record in italics - Victory record and quota at the time of
Hall of Fame election - Year of induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as coach
- Member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as coach

Surname	Teams and playing times	Games	Victory record	Quota	NBA title	Coach of the Year Award	All-Star Games	Hall of Fame	source
Red Auerbach (1917-2006)	Washington Capitols ( 1946 - 1949 ) Tri-Cities Blackhawks ( 1949-50 ) Boston Celtics ( 1950 - 1966 )	1417	0 938-479 0	(.662)	0 9 0 ( 1957 , 1959 - 1966 )	1 ( 1965 )	11 ( 1957 - 1967 )	1969	[1]
Chuck Daly (1930-2009)	Cleveland Cavaliers ( 1982 ) Detroit Pistons ( 1983 - 1992 ) New Jersey Nets ( 1992 - 1994 ) Orlando Magic ( 1997 - 1999 )	1075	0 638—437 0 476—303 (.611)	(.593)	0 2 0 ( 1989 , 1990 )	0 - 0	0 1 0 ( 1990 )	1994	[2]
Bill Fitch (* 1934)	Cleveland Cavaliers ( 1970 - 1979 ) Boston Celtics ( 1979 - 1983 ) Houston Rockets ( 1983 - 1988 ) New Jersey Nets ( 1989 - 1992 ) Los Angeles Clippers ( 1994 - 1998 )	2050	0 944-1106 891-949 (.482)	(.460)	0 1 0 ( 1981 )	2 ( 1976 , 1980 )	0 1 0 ( 1982 )	2019	[3]
Red Holzman (1920-1998)	Milwaukee and St. Louis Hawks ( 1954 - 1956 ) New York Knickerbockers ( 1967 - 1982 )	1299	0 696-603 0	(.536)	0 2 0 ( 1970 , 1973 )	1 ( 1970 )	0 2 0 ( 1970 , 1971 )	1986	[4]
Phil Jackson (* 1945)	Chicago Bulls ( 1989 - 1998 ) Los Angeles Lakers ( 1999 - 2003 , 2005 - 2011 )	1640	1155-485 0 414-173 (.705)	(.704)	11 ( 1991 - 1993 , 1996 - 1998 , 2000 - 2002 , 2009 - 2010 )	1 ( 1996 )	0 4 0 ( 1992 , 1996 , 2000 , 2009 )	2007	[5]
John Kundla (1916-2017)	Minneapolis Lakers ( 1948 - 1959 )	0 725	0 423-302 0	(.583)	0 5 0 ( 1949 , 1950 , 1952 - 1954 )	0 - 0	0 4 0 ( 1951 - 1954 )	1995	[6]
Don Nelson (* 1940)	Milwaukee Bucks ( 1976 - 1987 ) Golden State Warriors ( 1988 - 1995 ) New York Knickerbockers ( 1995/96 ) Dallas Mavericks ( 1997 - 2005 ) Golden State Warriors ( 2006 - 2010 )	2398	1335-1063 794-629 (.558)	(.557)	0 0 - 0 0	3 ( 1983 , 1985 , 1992 )	0 2 0 ( 1992 , 2002 )	2012	[7]
Jack Ramsay (1925-2014)	Philadelphia 76ers ( 1968 - 1972 ) Buffalo Braves ( 1972 - 1976 ) Portland Trail Blazers ( 1976 - 1986 ) Indiana Pacers ( 1986 - 1988 )	1647	0 864-783 0	(.525)	0 1 0 ( 1977 )	0 - 0	0 1 0 ( 1978 )	1992	[8th]
Pat Riley (born 1945)	Los Angeles Lakers ( 1981 - 1990 ) New York Knickerbockers ( 1991 - 1995 ) Miami Heat ( 1995 - 2003 ), ( 2005 - 2008 )	1904	1210-694 0 798-339 (.702)	(.636)	0 5 0 ( 1982 , 1985 , 1987 , 1988 , 2006 )	3 ( 1990 , 1993 , 1997 )	0 9 0 ( 1982 , 1983 , 1985 - 1990 , 1993 )	2008	[9]
Lenny Wilkens (* 1937)	Seattle SuperSonics ( 1969 - 1972 ) Portland Trail Blazers ( 1974 - 1976 ) Seattle Supersonics ( 1977 - 1985 ) Cleveland Cavaliers ( 1986 - 1993 ) Atlanta Hawks ( 1993 - 2000 ) Toronto Raptors ( 2000 - 2003 ) New York Knickerbockers ( 2003 - 2005 )	2487	1332-1155 1014-850 (.544)	(.536)	0 1 0 ( 1979 )	1 ( 1994 )	0 4 0 ( 1979 , 1980 , 1989 , 1994 )	1998	[10]

See also

• 50 Greatest Players in NBA History
• List of members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Individual evidence

1. ^ NN: NBA at 50: Top 10 coaches in NBA history. On: NBA website; New York, August 26, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2017 (in English).
2. ↑ Official NBA Guide 2016–2017 , published by the NBA. New York, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2017 (in English).