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Ranking Every NBA Head Coach From Worst To Best

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Ranking Every NBA Head Coach From Worst To Best

Doc Rivers — In a league where players have more power and say in team matters and personnel decisions than perhaps any other professional sport, it can be difficult to gauge a head coach's true worth to their franchise. Here is every NBA head coach ranked from worst to best.

In a league where players have more power and say in team matters and personnel decisions than perhaps any other professional sport, it can be difficult to gauge a head coach's true worth to their franchise. Here is every NBA head coach ranked from worst to best.

30. Derek Fisher – New York Knicks

30. Derek Fisher – New York Knicks

It’s hard to get a read on first-year coaches. They’re usually taking over teams with little talent, and it can take some time to implement their system and schemes. Fisher went directly from player to coach this past offseason, and it’s clear there are going to be some growing pains for Fisher and the Knicks in the Big Apple.

29. Quin Snyder – Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey Coach Quin Snyder - Copy

29. Quin Snyder – Utah Jazz

Utah Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey Coach Quin Snyder — Snyder is another first-year coach, but one who has considerable coaching experience. The Jazz coach was most recently a top assistant with the Atlanta Hawks and was the head coach at the University of Missouri from 2000-2006. Utah has little chance of competing this year, and it’s simply going to take more time to get a read on how successful Snyder will be in the NBA.

Snyder is another first-year coach, but one who has considerable coaching experience. The Jazz coach was most recently a top assistant with the Atlanta Hawks and was the head coach at the University of Missouri from 2000-2006. Utah has little chance of competing this year, and it’s simply going to take more time to get a read on how successful Snyder will be in the NBA.

28. Brett Brown - Philadelphia 76ers

28. Brett Brown - Philadelphia 76ers

You thought it was hard to gauge how good a first-year coach is? Try getting a read on anyone hoping to lead this 76ers roster nearly devoid of any real NBA talent. Gregg Popovich would struggle to win 20 games in Philadelphia -- it’s that bad. The fact Brown won 19 games last year is a fairly significant accomplishment, but a career record so far of 21-81 makes it difficult to justify a higher placement.

27. Jacque Vaughn – Orlando Magic

27. Jacque Vaughn – Orlando Magic

The Magic have struggled in the former point guard’s first two years as the head coach, but that was expected after the dumpster fire of a roster that was left in Orlando after Dwight Howard’s departure. Vaughn won 20 and 23 games in his first two campaigns and if the team does not improve this season, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Magic be on the lookout for a new coach in 2015.

26. Brian Shaw – Denver Nuggets

26. Brian Shaw – Denver Nuggets

Shaw was set up for failure after taking over in 2013 for reigning Coach of the Year George Karl. The Nuggets finished 36-46 and had their fair share of controversy. Veteran point guard and team leader Andre Miller had a sideline confrontation with Shaw and was subsequently traded. With key players like Danilo Gallinari returning from injury this season, Shaw needs to match the higher expectations in order to stay off the hot seat.

25. Byron Scott – Los Angeles Lakers

25. Byron Scott – Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are off to a terrible, but predictable 6-16 start, and it’s hard to give Scott much of the blame. Kobe and the rest of the team have been a train wreck as most expected, making Byron Scott essentially free from evaluation until the team fields a competitive roster.

24. Mike Malone – Sacramento Kings

24. Mike Malone – Sacramento Kings

Malone was widely regarded as one of, if not the top assistant in the NBA before being hired by the Kings in 2013. He has Sacramento off to a surprising 11-11 start, but his biggest accomplishment is how he’s been able to teach the previously immature DeMarcus Cousins like no coach before has been able to. Under his guidance, Malone's big man is performing like one of the top players in the league.

23. David Blatt – Cleveland Cavaliers

23. David Blatt – Cleveland Cavaliers

2014 is Blatt’s first year as a coach in the NBA, but he’s no stranger to high-level basketball. Known as perhaps the top coach outside of the NBA prior to his hiring by the Cavaliers, Blatt most recently won the Euroleague championship in 2013 with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Coaching one of the greatest players to ever walk the Earth in your first year is going to raise expectations a bit, so Blatt better win and so do in a hurry.

22. Flip Saunders – Minnesota Timberwolves

22. Flip Saunders – Minnesota Timberwolves

Saunders isn’t just the coach in Minnesota, he’s the President of Basketball Operations and even a part-owner. Since he has basically the entire say over the roster he coaches, Saunders has no one to blame but himself if the Timberwolves fail to succeed over the next few years. The ‘Wolves are in a rebuilding phase, so Saunders has a little bit of time to figure things out before being graded too harshly.

21. Brad Stevens – Boston Celtics

21. Brad Stevens – Boston Celtics

It shocked many when Stevens left Butler University to join the Celtics after stating so many times that he had no intentions of ever leaving the small Indiana school. As expected, 2013 was a down year, but the youngest coach to ever lead a team to two Final Fours had the team playing hard in game 82, a good sign for Boston's future.

20. Monty Williams – New Orleans Pelicans

20. Monty Williams – New Orleans Pelicans

As predicted, the backcourt trio of Holiday, Gordon and Tyreke Evans has thus far failed, for which Williams deserves some blame. Monty has led the Pelicans to one playoff appearance and a 128-184 record in four seasons in New Orleans. Outside of Anthony Davis, the Pelicans are pretty bad, but any team with a player of Davis’ caliber is going to have expectations. They’ll need to show some real improvement for Williams to avoid the hot seat.

19. Randy Wittman – Washington Wizards

19. Randy Wittman – Washington Wizards

In his eight years as an NBA head coach, Wittman’s posted a 191-329 record, but the former star Indiana University guard had presided over some pretty terrible rosters in that time. The 2013-14 season marked the first campaign in which Wittman has led his team to the playoffs.

18. Steve Clifford – Charlotte Hornets

18. Steve Clifford – Charlotte Hornets

If not for the team’s 5-15 start, Clifford would find himself even higher on this list. In his first year as an NBA head coach, Clifford’s Bobcats, now Hornets, stunned the NBA world and finished with a winning record. The team made the playoffs as the East’s No. 7 seed.

17. Jason Kidd – Milwaukee Bucks

17. Jason Kidd – Milwaukee Bucks

The future Hall-of-Fame point guard’s departure from Brooklyn this past offseason was certainly a little peculiar and somewhat troubling, but it is no indication of his coaching prowess. After a horrendous start to the 2013-14 season, Kidd and the Nets finished with the East’s second-best record after December. The Bucks already have 11 wins, just four fewer than the entirety of last season.

16. Lionel Hollins – Brooklyn Nets

16. Lionel Hollins – Brooklyn Nets

After sitting out the 2013-14 season, Lionel Hollins replaced Kidd in Brooklyn. Due to a “difference in ideologies,” the Memphis Grizzlies let Hollins go after he had led the team to a franchise record 56 wins and a Western Conference Finals appearance.

15. Kevin McHale – Houston Rockets

15. Kevin McHale – Houston Rockets

The Rockets’ first round exit at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers delivered a big blow to McHale’s coaching stock. Houston fans have largely been upset with McHale’s unimaginative offensive scheme during his tenure. The disappointing offseason for Houston in which they lost Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin has lowered expectations, but McHale has the Rockets off to a surprising 16-4 record.

14. Stan Van Gundy – Detroit Pistons

14. Stan Van Gundy – Detroit Pistons

Van Gundy deserves a lot of credit for what he did with Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic in leading them to the 2009 NBA Finals. The Dwight debacle and the Magic’s struggles after led to “SVG’s” firing. After a couple years away from the bench, Van Gundy was hired as the head coach and president of basketball operations by Detroit.

13. Steve Kerr - Golden State Warriors

13. Steve Kerr - Golden State Warriors

The NBA’s all-time leader in 3-point field goal percentage had a unique opportunity for a man with zero coaching experience when he was offered the gig for a talented Warriors squad this offseason. Kerr’s played under coaching legends Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich, giving him experience and first-hand knowledge on how great coaches succeed. Expectations were already high in Oakland, but Kerr has exceeded them with the Warriors' 18-2 start.

12. Scott Brooks - Oklahoma City Thunder

12. Scott Brooks - Oklahoma City Thunder

Brooks gets serious flack as a coach even after leading the Thunder to three Western Conference Finals, a Finals appearance and a top-two seed in the vaunted West every year since 2011. As they should have, OKC struggled in the early going of 2014 with injuries to Westbrook and Durant. With both his star players back in the lineup, we’ll see just how good Brooks is and if he can guide the Thunder into the playoffs.

11. Frank Vogel – Indiana Pacers

11. Frank Vogel – Indiana Pacers

Through January of last season, Vogel had the Pacers looking like a legitimate title contender. Indiana then proceeded to melt down the final few months of the season, causing people to question if Vogel should be let go. Besides the single bad stretch, Vogel has led the Pacers to one of the best records over the past three-plus seasons.

10. Dwane Casey – Toronto Raptors

10. Dwane Casey – Toronto Raptors

Casey was already climbing the coaching ranks after the Raptors’ Atlantic Division title last season, and Toronto’s 16-6 start has accelerated the ascent even more. The fifth-year coach preaches defense and has the Raptors looking like a real threat to win the Eastern Conference.

9. Jeff Hornacek – Phoenix Suns

9. Jeff Hornacek – Phoenix Suns

The Suns were predicted to finish near the bottom of the Western Conference standings last year, but in his first year as coach, Hornacek had something else in mind. Phoenix shocked the NBA world with a 48-win season and barely missed the playoffs due only to the fact that the Western Conference is loaded with nearly every good team in the NBA.

8. Mike Budenholzer – Atlanta Hawks

8. Mike Budenholzer – Atlanta Hawks

Budenholzer served as an assistant under the coaching genius of Gregg Popovich and the Spurs since 1996 before taking over his own team in Atlanta in 2013. His first season ended with an appearance in the playoffs as the East’s eighth seed, and the Hawks overcame an Al Horford injury to take the top-seeded Pacers to seven games. With Horford back in the fold, the Hawks are off to a scintillating 14-6 start.

7. Dave Joerger – Memphis Grizzlies

7. Dave Joerger – Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies almost made the terrible decision to let Joerger take the Timberwolves coaching job before smartly deciding to sign the coach to an extension. Joerger looked like a failure of a hire early in his first year in Memphis after a 15-19 start. The Grizz went 35-13 the rest of the way and took the second-seeded Thunder to the brink, only to lose Game 7 without the services of the suspended Zach Randolph.

6. Terry Stotts – Portland Trail Blazers

6. Terry Stotts – Portland Trail Blazers

Coming off the big first-round playoff victory over the favored Houston Rockets last season and with the Blazers sitting at 17-4 in the early going of 2014, Stotts is a rock star in Portland. The Blazers coach runs one of the most creative and exciting offenses in the NBA, and deserves a lot of credit for Damian Lillard’s ascension to near the top of the NBA’s point guard pantheon.

5. Erik Spoelstra – Miami Heat

5. Erik Spoelstra – Miami Heat

Spoelstra did not receive nearly enough credit for the Heat’s four-straight Finals appearances and two championships. When the “Big Three” came together, many thought “Spo” would be over his head, but he quickly gained respect of the team and took them to the highest of highs. Managing to win two titles without a legitimate starting point guard or center is no easy task, even with LeBron James on the team.

4. Tom Thibodeau – Chicago Bulls

4. Tom Thibodeau – Chicago Bulls

Thibodeau has a solid argument for inclusion in the top three and maybe even the No. 2 spot. The only missing piece on his head coaching resume is the lack of an NBA title or even an Eastern Conference title. He’s led the Bulls to the playoffs in all four seasons in Chicago despite the injuries to Derrick Rose, and his coaching job in 2013-14 was simply remarkable without both Rose and Luol Deng.

3. Doc Rivers – Los Angeles Clippers

3. Doc Rivers – Los Angeles Clippers

There’s a reason why the Clippers would trade a first-round pick for a coach -- that’s how good Doc Rivers is. His greatest skill and attribute as a coach, among many, is the respect his players have for him and the intensity they play with each and every night. The way Rivers and his players came together after the Donald Sterling fiasco is a testament to his ability to hold a team together.

2. Rick Carlisle – Dallas Mavericks

2. Rick Carlisle – Dallas Mavericks

I was even a little surprised when looking over how successful the Mavericks coach has been in his career. Carlisle has only one losing season in 12 years as a head coach. Topping off his impressive resume is the Mavericks' 2012 NBA title over the heavily-favored Miami Heat.

1. Gregg Popovich – San Antonio Spurs

1. Gregg Popovich – San Antonio Spurs

It’s not possible to make an argument for any other man to top the list of the best head coaches in the NBA. Popovich has five championship rings, three Coach of the Year awards and 17 playoff appearances in 18 years. The Spurs legend takes nothing from nobody and manages to get the best out of each player he coaches.

Seth Lassen is a writer for RantSports. Like him on Facebook.

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