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Being an NBA coach is easily one of the toughest jobs in professional sports. Word to Mike D'Antoni. There's the handling of egos, dealing with the media, and the importance of that little thing called winning. Pat Riley will always be remembered as one of the best to ever stand on the sidelines because of his ability to do the aforementioned. The former coach of the Showtime Lakers dynasty, early '90s Knicks, and the Miami Heat (ya know, before they became the most hated team in the L) turns 67 today. Riley's ability to manage teams and games like a boss all while looking the part makes him one of the most badass coaches in league history. So, as a birthday salute to Riley, check out our list of the 10 Coolest Coaches in NBA History.
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10. Larry Bird
Years: 1997-2000
Record and Accolades: 147-67 (.687 winning percentage), 2000 Eastern Conference Championship, 1998 Coach of the Year
Great players very rarely make great coaches (see McHale, Kevin). Sometimes great players don't even make good coaches (see Thomas, Isiah). In his three years coaching, Bird led the Pacers to two division titles and an appearance in the Finals in 2000. He won the Coach of the Year in 1998, and that year the Pacers took the Bulls to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals, arguably the strongest challenge that Chicago faced during their '90s dynasty (sorry Knicks fans). One of the game's all-time great shit talkers, Bird was a players' coach, who also could've come off the bench to play for each of the teams he ran. When your coach can beat you in a game of HORSE, and tell you about it? Very cool.
9. Al Attles
Years: 1969-1983
Record and Accolades: 557-518 (.518 winning percentage) 1975 NBA Championship with the Warriors
Nicknamed the Destroyer during his playing days with the Warriors, Attles took over the helm in Oakland as a player-coach in 1970. He remained in uniform that season and the next, not because he was a great player (he wasn't, with career averages of 9 PPG,/3.5 RPG/3.5 APG) but because he wanted to be the guy to come on the floor and take a foul when needed. He coached Golden State to their lone NBA title in 1975, was one of the first coaches to ignore the league's unofficial quota for white players, and ran the point in practices well into his 40s. He's still active in the organization, which can only help, given the rancor currently surrounding the club.
8. Gregg Popovich
Years: 1996-Present
Record and Accolades: 826-397 (.675 winning percentage) 4 NBA Championships (1999, 2002, 2005, 2007 all with the Spurs), 2003 Coach of the Year
The Spurs are one of the most boring teams of the past decade-plus (also one of the most winningest), but Pop makes them watchable. There's the reporter sonning ("we probably should try hard to win that game" and the silent treatment) and he's not too serious to bust out the occasional in-game joke. Pac Div knows what's up.
7. Don Nelson
Years: 1976-2012
Record and Accolades: 1335-1063 (.557 winning percentage), All-Time leader in regular season wins, 3x Coach of the Year (1983, 1985, 1992)
He's the winningest coach in NBA history, and, thanks to that fact and the dearth of championship rings on his fingers, pretty clearly the greatest coach to never win a title. His teams (he coached in Milwaukee, Golden State, New York for a hot minute, Dallas, and Golden State again), almost always featured an up-tempo style, which led to a bunch of regular season Ws but also playoff disappointment. Still, the guy who introduced the league to Run-TMC and helped Steve Nash become the Hall of Famer he is today is one of the coolest coaches ever, rings or not.
6. Larry Brown
Years: 1976-1979, 1981-1983, 1988-2006, 2008-2011
Record and Accolades: 1098-904 (.548 winning percentage), 2004 NBA Championship with the Detroit Pistons, 2001 Coach of the Year
With nearly four decades of coaching under his belt, Larry Brown has definitely put in the work to deserve a spot on this list. He started coaching in college then spent the vast majority of his career in the NBA with a slew of teams, eight to be exact. Though he's bounced around to several squads, Brown has a rep for being able to turn franchises around. In his two seasons with the Clippers, LB took the team to the playoffs for the first time in team history in 1992 then again in 1993. Later on in his career, Brown became most well-known for his handling of Allen Iverson. Despite public clashes between the two, the Sixers were able to make it to the NBA Finals in 2001 where they would lose to the Lakers. Brown got a bit of redemption years later when he led the Pistons to a Finals victory over Shaq, Kobe & Co. Despite his differences with A.I., the guard referred to Brown as the "best coach in the world" in 2005.
5. Bill Russell
Years: 1966–1969, 1973–1977, 1987–1988
Record and Accolades: 340-291 (.540 winning percentage), 2 NBA Championships (1968 & 1969 with the Celtics), became the first black head coach in 1966
Bill Russell's 11 rings as a player seem unreal by today's standards but two of his chips stand out among the rest. Before the 1966-67 season, Red Auerbach retired and appointed Bill Russell as the head coach of the Boston Celtics. With that historic decision, Russell became the first black coach in NBA history. The Celtics won two championships in Russell's three years as player-coach, making him the first black coach to win an NBA title. Fun fact: DJ Khaled's biggest hit was based on this dude's life.
4. Chuck Daly
Years: 1981-1994, 1997-1999
Record and Accolades: 638-437 (.593 winning percentage), 2 NBA Championships (1989 & 1990 with the Pistons), head coach of the 1992 NBA Dream Team
Coaching one of the most badass teams in NBA history can easily turn into a nightmare. However, for Chuck Daly, it became a dream come true. The Bad Boys Pistons of the '80s had a roster of villains like Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman, and sneakier dirty guys like Isiah Thomas. Instead of self-destructing and turning on one another, Daly's players let out their frustrations on opponents. Many loathed those teams but there was no denying that they were damn good. Soundtrack, please!
3. Pat Riley
Years: 1981-1990, 1991-2003, 2005-2008
Record and Accolades: 1210-694 (.636 winning percentage), 5 NBA Championships (4 with the Lakers and 1 with the Heat), 3x Coach of the Year (1990, 1993, 1997)
When it comes to head coaches in the NBA or any sport, there aren't many that are as cool or successful as Pat Riley. His career as a head coach began in 1982 when Jerry West was unwilling to take over the reins in L.A. and Jerry Buss went with Riley as a second option. The result was the birth of the Showtime Lakers. Riley led L.A. to four championships in the '80s before dipping to New York where he coached one of the grittiest teams in NBA history to the Finals. Years later, his talents helped D-Wade and Shaq become NBA champs in 2006. But it isn't just the fact that he has five rings that puts him on this list, it's his ability to make both super stars and role players buy into his system. Plus, he did all this in cities with the most distractions and media scrutiny. That's something that can't be said for a lot of coaches today. Sorry, D'An...OK, OK, we'll stop.
2. Phil Jackson
Years: 1989-1998, 1999-2004, 2005-2011
Record and Accolades: 1155-485 (.704 winning percentage), 11 NBA Championships (6 with the Bulls and 5 with the Lakers), 1996 Coach of the Year
The Zen Master. What else really needs to be said? With more rings than he can fit on both hands, Phil Jackson was the ultimate coaching guru with an uncanny ability to keep egos in check. Yes, he had arguably three of the top 10 players in NBA history on his teams at different points in his career, but that can be both a blessing and a curse. The latter was the case during the Shaq-Kobe feud of the early to mid 2000s. The same issues also arose in 2007 when Kobe was making trade demands. Through it all, the Zen Master remained his calm, cool and collected self to manage the most aggressive personalities and make his teams into champions. We wonder how he did it. Well, one idea comes to mind...
1. Red Auerbach
Years: 1949-1966
Record and Accolades: 823-426 (.629 winning percentage), 9 NBA Championships (8 won consecutively), 1965 Coach of the Year
Red Auerbach was simply the definition of a winner. His teams didn't just pick up Ws, they dominated. Red led nine of his teams to championships in 20 seasons as coach of the Boston Celtics. The coaching legend also helped break color barriers during a time when the NBA was predominantly white. Auerbach drafted the league's first black player, Chuck Cooper, in 1950 and his 1964 team was made up of the first all-black starting five. On top of that, Red did it all with his own bit of swag, most notably his habit of celebrating with victory cigars. No Lewinsky.