The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a major professional basketball league in North America. It was founded in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).[1] The league adopted its current name at the start of the when it merged with the National Basketball League (NBL).[2] The league consists of 30 teams, of which 29 are located in the United States and one in Canada. In the NBA, a head coach is the highest ranking coach of a coaching staff. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than the assistant coaches.
Former Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson has won eleven NBA championships, the most in NBA history. He won six titles with the Chicago Bulls and five titles with the Lakers, and is one of three coaches who have won multiple championships with more than one team (Pat Riley and Alex Hannum are the others). Red Auerbach won nine championships with the Boston Celtics and won eight consecutive titles from to . John Kundla, Pat Riley, and current San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich have each won five championships. Kundla won all of his titles with the Lakers, and Popovich has won all of his titles with the Spurs, while Riley won four titles with the Lakers and one with the Miami Heat. Current Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has won four championships, while current Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has won two titles. Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse, Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer, Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, and Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla are the only other active coaches who have won a championship. Rivers won while with the Boston Celtics in 2008, Carlisle won while with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, Lue with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, Nurse with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, Budenholzer with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, Malone with the Denver Nuggets in 2023, and Mazzulla with the Boston Celtics in 2024.
| Yrs | Number of years coached | |
| GC | Games coached | |
| W | Wins | |
| L | Losses | |
| Win% | Winning percentage | |
| ^ | Denotes coach who is currently coaching an NBA team | |
| Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach | ||
| Active NBA coach who has been elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the .
| Number won | Coach | Team(s) won with (years) | Coaching career | Yrs | GC | W | L | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
| 11 | Chicago Bulls (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998) Los Angeles Lakers (2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010) | –, –, – | 20 | 1,640 | 1,155 | 485 | .704 | 333 | 229 | 104 | .688 | [7] | ||
| 9 | Boston Celtics (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966) | – | 20 | 1,417 | 938 | 479 | .662 | 168 | 99 | 69 | .589 | [8] | ||
| 5 | Minneapolis Lakers (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954) | –, | 11 | 725 | 423 | 302 | .583 | 95 | 60 | 35 | .632 | [9] | ||
| 5 | Los Angeles Lakers (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988) Miami Heat (2006) | –, –, – | 24 | 1,904 | 1,210 | 694 | .636 | 282 | 171 | 111 | .606 | [10] | ||
| 5 | ^ | San Antonio Spurs (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014) | –present | 28 | 2,209 | 1,388 | 821 | .628 | 284 | 170 | 114 | .599 | [11] | |
| 4 | ^ | Golden State Warriors (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) | –present | 10 | 793 | 519 | 274 | .654 | 140 | 99 | 41 | .707 | [12] | |
| 2 | Detroit Pistons (1989, 1990) | , –, – | 14 | 1,075 | 638 | 437 | .593 | 126 | 75 | 51 | .595 | [13] | ||
| 2 | St. Louis Hawks (1958) Philadelphia 76ers (1967) | –, –, – | 12 | 883 | 471 | 412 | .533 | 81 | 47 | 34 | .580 | [14] | ||
| 2 | Boston Celtics (1974, 1976) | – | 9 | 690 | 427 | 263 | .619 | 80 | 47 | 33 | .588 | [15] | ||
| 2 | New York Knicks (1970, 1973) | –, –, – | 18 | 1,300 | 696 | 604 | .535 | 106 | 58 | 48 | .547 | [16] | ||
| 2 | Boston Celtics (1984, 1986) | –, –, – | 10 | 774 | 522 | 252 | .674 | 138 | 81 | 57 | .587 | [17] | ||
| 2 | Boston Celtics (1968, 1969) | –, –, | 8 | 631 | 341 | 290 | .540 | 61 | 34 | 27 | .557 | [18] | ||
| 2 | Houston Rockets (1994, 1995) | –, | 13 | 943 | 527 | 416 | .559 | 90 | 51 | 39 | .567 | [19] | ||
| 2 | ^ | Miami Heat (2012, 2013) | –present | 16 | 1,277 | 750 | 527 | .587 | 189 | 110 | 79 | .582 | [20] | |
| 1 | Golden State Warriors (1975) | – | 14 | 1,075 | 557 | 518 | .518 | 61 | 31 | 30 | .508 | [21] | ||
| 1 | Detroit Pistons (2004) | –, –, –, – | 27 | 2,002 | 1,098 | 904 | .548 | 193 | 100 | 93 | .518 | [22] | ||
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks (2021) | – | 10 | 801 | 484 | 317 | .604 | 104 | 56 | 48 | .538 | align:center" | [23] | |
| 1 | ^ | Dallas Mavericks (2011) | –, –present | 22 | 1,771 | 943 | 828 | .532 | 150 | 71 | 79 | .473 | [24] | |
| 1 | Syracuse Nationals (1955) | –, | 9 | 567 | 326 | 241 | .575 | 60 | 34 | 26 | .567 | [25] | ||
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks (1971) | –, | 10 | 730 | 430 | 300 | .589 | 60 | 37 | 23 | .617 | [26] | ||
| 1 | Philadelphia 76ers (1983) | – | 8 | 650 | 454 | 196 | .698 | 105 | 66 | 39 | .629 | [27] | ||
| 1 | Boston Celtics (1981) | –, –, – | 25 | 2,050 | 944 | 1,106 | .460 | 109 | 55 | 54 | .505 | [28] | ||
| 1 | Philadelphia Warriors (1947) | – | 9 | 581 | 263 | 318 | .453 | 32 | 15 | 17 | .469 | [29] | ||
| 1 | Rochester Royals (1951) | – | 7 | 476 | 295 | 181 | .620 | 38 | 19 | 19 | .500 | [30] | ||
| 1 | Baltimore Bullets (1948) | –, –, – | 7 | 354 | 151 | 203 | .427 | 24 | 14 | 10 | .583 | [31] | ||
| 1 | ^ | Cleveland Cavaliers (2016) | –, –present | 8 | 529 | 312 | 217 | .590 | 91 | 54 | 37 | .593 | [32] | |
| 1 | ^ | Denver Nuggets (2023) | –present | 11 | 825 | 463 | 362 | .561 | 80 | 44 | 36 | .550 | [33] | |
| 1 | ^ | Boston Celtics (2024) | –present | 2 | 164 | 121 | 43 | .738 | 39 | 27 | 12 | .692 | [34] | |
| 1 | Washington Bullets (1978) | –, –, –, – | 25 | 1,952 | 935 | 1,017 | .479 | 126 | 56 | 70 | .444 | [35] | ||
| 1 | ^ | Toronto Raptors (2019) | –present | 6 | 472 | 274 | 198 | .581 | 47 | 27 | 20 | .574 | [36] | |
| 1 | Portland Trail Blazers (1977) | –, – | 21 | 1,647 | 864 | 783 | .525 | 102 | 44 | 58 | .431 | [37] | ||
| 1 | ^ | Boston Celtics (2008) | –, –, –present | 25 | 1,896 | 1,114 | 782 | .588 | 221 | 113 | 108 | .511 | [38] | |
| 1 | Philadelphia Warriors (1956) | – | 3 | 216 | 119 | 97 | .551 | 20 | 10 | 10 | .500 | [39] | ||
| 1 | Los Angeles Lakers (1972) | –, – | 7 | 573 | 333 | 240 | .581 | 62 | 35 | 27 | .565 | [40] | ||
| 1 | Los Angeles Lakers (2020) | –, –, | 12 | 902 | 480 | 422 | .532 | 92 | 49 | 43 | .533 | [41] | ||
| 1 | Los Angeles Lakers (1980) | –,, – | 6 | 407 | 183 | 224 | .450 | 19 | 13 | 6 | .684 | [42] | ||
| 1 | Seattle SuperSonics (1979) | –, –, –, –, – | 32 | 2,487 | 1,332 | 1,155 | .536 | 178 | 80 | 98 | .449 | [43] | ||