[Fox Sports] NBA's top all-time coaches

I was watching a Red Aurbach interview, and he thought the Bulls would have eventually won under Doug Collins. He mentioned that sometimes championship teams have to get knocked down a few times before they break through and win.

The Bulls used to lose because the Pistons would push them around. I don't think Jackson had anything to do with Pippen becoming a man and playing like he had a pair (if anything, everyone credits that to Jordan dogging him everyday). The triangle was implemented once he got there...but again, that is all Tex Winters. I guess I should give Phil credit for picking the right assistant coaches?

The 98/99 season was Kobe's first starting, and he was just coming into his own that yr and the following yr (when LA first won). I think he would have blown up no matter if I was coaching him.

Basically, each team Phil won a title with was a championship calibar squad knocking on the door before he got there.

 

Look, talent wins championships. Take Larry Brown. He's best known for taking on hard luck teams and getting the most out of them. That's what makes him a top 10 coach. Larry Brown has only had real talent in two places, Philly, San Antonio, and Detroit, where he has had the most success.

Now, Phil Jackson has had great talent, but he has 9 rings to back up all the talent he has had. Would Larry Brown have 9 rings with all that talent? We'll never find out. You can't take away what Phil Jackson has done just because he doesn't take on charity cases like Larry Brown does, however. Now, if Jackson only had one or two championships, people can talk about him all they want, but the numbers don't lie. Is he the best coach of all time? That's certainly debatable. In fact, I'd actually rank him slightly below Aeurbach simply because Aeurbach won 8 titles in a row, which is the most consecutive titles in any of the major pro sports. Jackson is most certainly in the top 3, however.

This upcoming season will definitly be the lithmus test for PJ, however. The Western Conference is as stacked as it's been in years. If he can get a playoff berth and a series win out of the Lakers this year, I think his legacy is secure.

...of course, I'm sure everybody will still say that it's because of Kobe...

 

Fair enough.

1. Red - two basic things set him far apart from any other coach: 8 straight championships with one team, and his ability to shape the roster at least as well as Jerry West did at his peak.

2. Phil - Can't peg him any lower than this. But like Bill Simmons said, and Rosen lifted, he's the greatest closer of all-time. I don't think that supercedes Red. Used Winter's triangle to help put together true teams in an era of individual stars and lifted great players to champions.

3. Pat Riley - Hard to say if these say much of value, but he does have 3 COY awards representing each of his stops. He's always had elite guys to work with, but he's really left a footprint on the NBA with his terrifying defensive schemes and his notoriously hardcore demands of his players in practice.

4. Red Holzman - Usual overshadowed by the star-studded 70s Knicks team he ran, but was an extremely elite X-and-Os coach. Kept his squads extremely disciplined and efficient on the court, particularly on D (rare for the time). Also coached the Hawks and turned Pettite into a PF force.

5. Larry Brown - I have to give it to him, despite not respecting his disloyal tendencies. Perhaps the greatest teacher of the game in the modern era. Abraisive and wears out his welcome, but took just about every team he touched past its max.

6. Jack Ramsay - Had the Blazers "playing the right way" well before Brown or Phil made it sound like a novel concept. Team-first no-stars-no-flash approach surprised the Dr J-led 76ers the same way the 04 Pistons stunned the Lakers, only without the help of squabbling stars. 4 teams, and only missed the playoffs a handful of times. Blazers were pereniel losers until he took over and turned them around.

Near Miss-List (usually because the success was short-term)
Jerry Sloan - ridiculously underrated, Malone choke-jobs cost him legend status
Chuck Daley - underwhelming post-Piston career
Popovich - great disciplinarian, great GM, and kisses his framed picture of Duncan each night
Lenny Wilkins - all-time winningest, all-time losingest
John Kundla - rode Mikan like a horse
Don Nelson - Bucks and Mavs worked out well, but has been fired several times for a reason

and I'm sure I've left some glaring omissions

Evan

 

If you have Don Nelson in your near miss, then you'd have to put Rudy T.

In fact, I'd put Rudy T above Nelson.

 

How did Rudy contribute to the game more than Nelson? I love Rudy, I love our championships, and I consider him to be one of the greatest motivators of all time. All that said, he was routinely out-coached.

Maybe I'm also so paranoid about being a homer that I go too far the other way.

Evan

 

Nelson contributed one dimensional, primarily offensive teams to the game and nothing more. Hes never even coached in the Finals and as far as I know, has only coached in the conference finals a few times. His coaching career has been based on gimmick offenses and nothing more, despite having alot of talent at every stop he has made.

Youll get no argument from me about Rudy T not being the greatest tactician that the NBA coaching ranks have seen, but in the end, its mostly about end results. If Rudy T's motivational style was able to win over another coach's X and O style, then that counts for something.

 

Hell, I'd put him above Popazit. What did that guy ever do? Sat his players down with feaux injuries until they drafted Tim Duncan. Then fired the coach and took over so he could reap all the glory. Yea!

 

To each his own, but I think you're selling him short.

 

When PJ won with the Bulls he had the games best player, and arguably the games best SF. The rest of the team was talented as well. It's not like the Bulls were a mediocore playoff team until he got there. They just couldn't beat the Pistons (who went to 3 straight Finals). I believe they made it to the Conference Finals and took the Pistons to 6 before Jackson. If anything, the younger Bulls finally attained enough experience to play big in big games against Detroit (mainly I have a migraine Pippen) and the Pistons got old. If you want to credit the triangle for making the difference, then go ahead, as that is all Tex.

When PJ won with the Lakers, he had the games best player and arguably the best SG in the league. They lost to the champion Spurs the year before Phil arrived (in Kobe's first season as a starter). It's not like they were a mediocore playoff team either.

My point is I think both of those teams would have broken through eventually, without Phil. Typically teams have to lose some before they finally win (see the Pistons, Bulls and Rocket teams). Hell, Rudy T won two titles when he had the games best player on his squad. He just didn't have talent like that for 9 seasons....

 

Don't get me wrong. I think Nelson is a very good coach. Im just selling him short on the basis that he wasn't a well-rounded coach and the ultimate results he had with the talent he was given.