The most premier basketball league in the world, the NBA started as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. The name was then changed to the NBA in the 1949-50 season, after the BAA merged with its competitor league, the National Basketball League (NBL). 29 teams from the United States and one from Canada compete annually for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The head coach holds the highest position of a team’s coaching staff and is primarily responsible for individual player development and creating tactics based on opposition strengths and weaknesses.
The legendary Phil Jackson is the most successful coach in NBA history with 11 championships, coaching only two teams, the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers. Meanwhile, Red Auerbach won nine championships with the Boston Celtics. As of September 2023, there have been 15 coaches in NBA history who have spent their entire career with their current teams.
Below is the list of the head coaches for 2023-24 season:
| Head coach | Team | Start date | Games | Won | Win% | Games | Won | Win% |
| Current | Career | |||||||
| Quin Snyder | Atlanta Hawks | 2/26/23 | 21 | 10 | 48% | 657 | 382 | 58% |
| Joe Mazzulla | Boston Celtics | 2/16/23 | 82 | 57 | 70% | 82 | 57 | 70% |
| Jacque Vaughn | Brooklyn Nets | 11/1/22 | 75 | 43 | 57% | 301 | 108 | 36% |
| Steve Clifford | Charlotte Hornets | 6/24/22 | 82 | 27 | 33% | 719 | 319 | 44% |
| Billy Donovan | Chicago Bulls | 9/22/20 | 236 | 117 | 50% | 636 | 360 | 57% |
| J. B. Bickerstaff | Cleveland Cavaliers | 2/19/20 | 247 | 122 | 49% | 463 | 207 | 45% |
| Jason Kidd | Dallas Mavericks | 6/28/21 | 164 | 90 | 55% | 537 | 273 | 51% |
| Michael Malone | Denver Nuggets | 6/15/15 | 637 | 367 | 58% | 743 | 406 | 55% |
| Monty Williams | Detroit Pistons | 6/2/23 | 0 | 0 | – | 703 | 367 | 52% |
| Steve Kerr | Golden State Warriors | 5/19/14 | 711 | 473 | 67% | 711 | 473 | 67% |
| Ime Udoka | Houston Rockets | 4/25/23 | 0 | 0 | – | 82 | 51 | 62% |
| Rick Carlisle | Indiana Pacers | 6/24/21 | 164 | 60 | 37% | 1689 | 896 | 53% |
| Tyronn Lue | Los Angeles Clippers | 10/20/20 | 236 | 133 | 56% | 447 | 261 | 58% |
| Darvin Ham | Los Angeles Lakers | 6/3/22 | 82 | 43 | 52% | 82 | 43 | 52% |
| Taylor Jenkins | Memphis Grizzlies | 6/11/19 | 309 | 179 | 58% | 309 | 179 | 58% |
| Erik Spoelstra | Miami Heat | 4/28/08 | 1195 | 704 | 59% | 1195 | 704 | 59% |
| Adrian Griffin | Milwaukee Bucks | 6/5/23 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – |
| Chris Finch | Minnesota Timberwolves | 2/22/21 | 205 | 104 | 51% | 205 | 104 | 51% |
| Willie Green | New Orleans Pelicans | 7/22/21 | 164 | 78 | 48% | 164 | 78 | 48% |
| Tom Thibodeau | New York Knicks | 7/30/20 | 236 | 125 | 53% | 831 | 477 | 57% |
| Mark Daigneault | Oklahoma City Thunder | 11/11/20 | 236 | 86 | 36% | 236 | 86 | 36% |
| Jamahl Mosley | Orlando Magic | 7/11/21 | 164 | 56 | 34% | 164 | 56 | 34% |
| Nick Nurse | Philadelphia 76ers | 6/1/23 | 0 | 0 | – | 390 | 227 | 58% |
| Frank Vogel | Phoenix Suns | 6/6/23 | 0 | 0 | – | 820 | 431 | 53% |
| Chauncey Billups | Portland Trail Blazers | 6/27/21 | 164 | 60 | 37% | 164 | 60 | 37% |
| Mike Brown | Sacramento Kings | 5/9/22 | 82 | 48 | 59% | 645 | 395 | 61% |
| Gregg Popovich | San Antonio Spurs | 12/10/96 | 2127 | 1366 | 64% | 2127 | 1366 | 64% |
| Darko Rajaković | Toronto Raptors | 6/13/23 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – |
| Will Hardy | Utah Jazz | 6/29/22 | 82 | 37 | 45% | 82 | 37 | 45% |
| Wes Unseld Jr. | Washington Wizards | 7/17/21 | 164 | 70 | 43% | 164 | 70 | 43% |
FAQs
A. Gregg Popovich, the coach of the San Antonio Spurs, has been head coach of the franchise for 27 years.
A. Larry Brown has coached nine different teams, which is the most amongst head coaches.
A. There are a total of 30 head coaches in the NBA. One for each team.
A. Dave DeBusschere started his coaching career for the Detroit Pistons at the age of 24 in 1964.
