Part 1: Who Are The Greatest NBA Coaches Of All Time?

The last few weeks have been chalked full of coaching news, ranging from stories about Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich winning their 1000^th game, or sadder, more tragic events, like the passing of two greats, North Carolina’s  Dean Smith and UNLV’s Jerry Tarkanian. The recent rush by each and every media pundit to try and put each accomplishment or life in context has caused me to do a lot of thinking about basketball coaches, and where each guy falls in the overall hierarchy of the profession.

I’ve always had a particular fascination with basketball coaches, because while I recognize their importance, this question always pops into my mind: just how much credit should they be given for the success of the teams they coach? Basketball, more than any other sport, is about star players, and because there are only five guys per team on the court at a time, and everybody plays both ways, those sensational players are afforded a greater opportunity to make an impact on the totality of the game than any other athlete in any other sport. Couldn’t I mostly argue that every legendary coach was saddled with multiple elite, Hall of Fame-level players? In the NBA, Phil Jackson had MJ, Pippen, Shaq, and Kobe, Red Auerbach had Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, and John Havlicek, Pat Riley had Magic, Kareem, Ewing, Shaq, and Wade, and Greg Popovich had the Duncan-Parker-Ginobili trio building, meshing, and winning together for more than a decade. The same goes for the legendary college coaches. Coach K’s best teams were loaded with All Americans and All Conference guys, as were John Wooden’s, Bob Knight’s, and Dean Smith’s. Talent, above all, is what wins in basketball. You have to have it.

But some guys are clearly better than others. It’s why a guy like Bruce Pearl can go 22-8 in his first season at Tennessee with basically the same exact team that Buzz Peterson went 14-17 with the year before. But why did Pearl have so much success? Was it scheme? Personality? Energy? Why are some guys just better than others? Here’s a list (not in order of importance):

1. Leadership. To me, this is the most important attribute a coach can have. Does he command the respect and eye of every man in the locker room? Can he reach the players, and do they take him seriously? Can he manage all the egos? Did guys quit on him? Do the players accept him as, for lack of a better term, their boss? This is especially extremely difficult and crucial in the pros, where many of the players make significantly more money than the coaches do.
2. X’s and O’s. Is this coach ahead of his time in terms of scheme? Did he run/create a legendary offensive/defensive system that changed basketball? Was he great at drawing up plays? Did his offensive/defensive philosophy maximize and highlight the talents of his players?
3. Professionalism. Could go hand in hand with “Leadership”, but did this coach handle himself well with the media? Did he publicly undermine his players, or was he fair? Did he know when to push someone’s buttons publicly, and when to let things go? Did he show up ready to work every single day? Was he a grinder?
4. Winning. Ultimately, this is how a coach will be measured. Did he win a ton of games?
5. Overachieving. Did his teams consistently play far above their talent level? Did he ever coach an underachieving team, or multiple teams that failed to reach expectations?
6. Luck. The most random variable, and something that plays into every career. Was this guy fortunate to coach multiple Hall of Famers? Did he catch breaks with the refs or in games during pivotal moments?
7. College Only Rules
• Recruiting. Was he able to recruit elite level players in every aspect of being a student athlete to his school?
• Program Building. Did this coach enhance the national reputation of this program during his tenure? Or did he make a place that had no basketball tradition into a national power?

I tried to take all the above factors into consideration when I compiled this list. For my purposes, I thought it would be too difficult to combine my rankings, so I decided to separate the college and pro rankings into two separate top five lists, with several honorable mentions. I'll save my college rankings for next week, and roll out my NBA thoughts now.

So, without further ado….

Greatest NBA Coaches of All Time

Honorable Mentions

Lenny Wilkens: Seattle 1969-1972, 1977-1985; Portland 1974-1976; Cleveland 1986-1993; Atlanta 1993-2000; Toronto 2000-2003; New York 2003-2005

1332-1155; 1-time NBA Champion (Seattle, 1979); 2 NBA Finals appearances (Seattle 1978, 1979); 4 Conference Finals Appearances; 20 Playoff Appearances; Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998

Don Nelson: Milwaukee 1976-1987; Golden State 1988-1995, 2006-2010; New York 1995-1996; Dallas 1997-2005

1335-1063; 0 NBA Championships; 0 NBA Finals Appearances; 4 Conference Finals Appearances; 18 Playoff Appearances; Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012

These guys’ coaching careers are eerily similar, though Wilkens did break through for one title in 1979. A few thoughts:

• Both guys held head jobs for an abnormally long time without ever coaching a transcendent, in his prime, NBA superstar. Nelson coached Dirk and Nash right before they hit their primes, got C-Webb for one year in G-State (his rookie season), and had apex Sidney Moncrief (one of the best defensive guards and athletes of the ‘80s), Marques Johnson (a five time All Star), Paul Pressey, his point-forward (more on that in a minute) and a past his prime Bob Lanier on Milwaukee teams that made back-to-back Conference Finals in 1983 and 1984 (the ’83 squad swept a Celtics team in the conference semifinals that had Larry Bird, Tiny Archibald, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Danny Ainge, and Cedric Maxwell). Wilkens had Dennis Johnson, Jack Sikma, and Gus Williams on the ’78 Sonics, the Mark Price-Craig Ehlo backcourt on late ‘80s and early ‘90s Cavs teams that got their hearts ripped out by Michael Jordan like a zillion times (for highlights, you can click here, here, and here), and late ‘90s Hawks teams that got to three conference semifinals, though they were never really a serious title contenders because their best players were Steve Smith and Dikembe Mutombo. Ultimately, more than anything, back luck was what kept these two from being much more successful than they were; you’ve just got to have the right superstar players at the right time in their careers. Nash and Dirk peaked after Nelson stopped coaching them, his Bucks teams kept running into superior Sixers (with Dr. J and Moses Malone) and Celtics teams, and he never coached a top 50 all time guy on his Warriors' teams. Nelson, with as smart and forward-thinking as he was, could’ve have easily been Pat Riley if he’d inherited Magic and Kareem in the ‘80s. Or maybe he couldn’t have. “Nellie Ball”, as elite offensively as it was, never embraced defense, or even cared about making it a priority. We’ll never know, because he never got the opportunity, and it’s why we remember Riley’s coaching career as being superior to Nelson’s.
• Nelson deserves credit for being the first guy to implement the “point-forward” concept into basketball, which did wonders for and helped highlight the immense skill sets of multiple guys like Scottie Pippen and LeBron.
• Nelson was also the coach of one of the most fun basketball teams of all time, the “Run TMC” Warriors (featuring Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin, the highest scoring trio in the league), who advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals in 1991. Isn’t that ultimately Nellie’s legacy? Just a guy that coached a ton of fun, aesthetically pleasing, offense-first basketball teams? Both of his Warriors’ tenures were full of fun teams, as was run with Dallas in the early 2000s. Even if he never won anything substantial, I’m glad we had Nelson.

Bill Fitch: Cleveland 1970-1979; Boston 1979-1983; Houston 1983-1988; New Jersey 1989-1992; L.A. Clippers 1994-1998

944-1106; 1-time NBA Champion (Celtics, 1981); 2 NBA Finals Appearances (Celtics 1981, Rockets 1986); 5 Conference Finals Appearances; 13 Playoff Appearances

Rick Adelman: Portland 1988-1994; Golden State 1995-1997; Sacramento 1998-2006; Houston 2007-2011; Minnesota 2011-2014

1042-748; 0 NBA Championships; 2 NBA Finals Appearances (Portland 1990, 1992); 4 Conference Finals Appearances; 16 Playoff Appearances

I felt like these two, who always seemed to find themselves in great situations, were worthy of mentioning, even if both fall  far short of zenith of the coaching profession. Adelman’s Portland teams made two Finals appearances in three years during one of the most competitive stretches in league history, before being vanquished by two of the greatest teams of all time (The Bad Boy Pistons and MJ’s pre-baseball Bulls). He also guided the best Sacramento ever assembled to within a game of the 2002 Finals, before both the officiating and the Kings got shaky down the stretch of Game 6 and 7. My biggest problem with Adelman was that he looked like Adolf Hitler, and that he'd always make this “holy crap, I feel like we’re about to blow this game” face every time something turned sour on the court for his team. Nothing screams “leadership” quite like that.

Fitch, one of the first coaches to really embrace watching game tape, was also fortunate enough to coach a young Larry Bird for four seasons. We’d probably remember his coaching life differently if his late ‘80s Rockets team (you know, the one with Hakeem that ripped through the Showtime Lakers in the 1986 Western Conference Finals?) hadn’t been floored by multiple cocaine suspensions (John Lucas, Lewis Lloyd, Mitchell Wiggins) and Ralph Sampson’s frightening fall at the Boston Garden in 1987 that basically ended his career.

One more thought on Fitch: He coached a wildly overmatched ’76 Cavs team (their best players were Austin Carr, Campy Russell, Bobby “Bingo” Smith, Jim Chones, and a three levels beyond washed up Nate Thurmond…. Campy and Bingo?) within two games of the Finals, and even got THE CLIPPERS to the playoffs in 1997. Fitch was the man and nobody even knows it.

Larry Brown: Carolina (ABA) 1972-1974; Denver 1974-1979; New Jersey 1981-1983; San Antonio 1988-1992; L.A. Clippers 1992-1993; Indiana 1993-1997; Philadelphia 1997-2003; Detroit 2003-2005; New York 2005-2006; Charlotte 2008-2011

NBA Record: 1098-904; ABA Record: 336-229; 1-time NBA Champion (Pistons 2004); 3 NBA and ABA Finals Appearances (Denver 1976, Sixers 2001, Pistons 2004, 2005); 9 NBA and ABA Conference Finals Appearances; 22 Playoff Appearances; Inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002

Ultimately, Brown was his own worst enemy. While he did have an extremely successful coaching career, he constantly shot himself in the foot by jumping from one job to another for reasons that remain unclear, which didn’t enable him to build any sort of continuity with a players or a roster. Even still, his ’01 Sixers and ’04 Pistons teams were historically memorable squads that played wildly different styles. The offensively-limited Philly team ran everything through Allen Iverson and his unique abilities, while the group in Detroit pulled one the greatest NBA upsets of all time (they decimated the Lakers in five games, and helped bring the Shaq-Kobe dynamic to an end) by being quite possibly the greatest defensive unit of all time. Later in his career, Brown even guided the Bobcats to their first winning season and playoff appearance in franchise history.

Dr. Jack Ramsay: Philadelphia 168-1972; Buffalo 1972-1976; Portland 1976-1986; Indiana 1986-1989

864-783; 1-time NBA Champion (Portland 1977); 1 NBA Finals Appearance (Portland 1977); 1 Conference Finals Appearance; 16 Playoff Appearances; Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992

I felt like Ramsay was worthy of mentioning, even if he had relatively little success compared to many of the guys on this list, because he is the all time “what if” coach. He was the head man of the memorably team-oriented ’77 Trailblazers, a squad dubbed by Sports Illustrated as “maybe the most ideal team ever put together”. The ‘Blazers came back from a 2-0 Finals deficit to beat a much more talented Sixers’ team featured players like Dr. J, Darryl Dawkins, World B. Free, Doug Collins, Jellybean Bryant (Kobe’s dad), and George McGinnis. Everything was built around Bill Walton’s elite passing, rebounding, and post moves. The players around him, like Maurice Lucas and Lionel Hollins, knew their roles and played them perfectly.

We’d probably remember Dr. Jack’s career more fondly if Walton’s multiple foot injuries hadn’t wrecked his career, and killed a potential Portland mini-dynasty that could’ve won at least three straight titles in the late ’70s. Don’t forget that the ‘Blazers were 50-10 and on their way to another title when Walton got hurt the first time during the ’78 season. If he doesn’t get hurt, Portland wins multiple titles, and Ramsay is remembered as one of the great coaches of all time, instead of a legendary TV and radio voice. What a shame. Bad luck struck again.

John Kundla: Minneapolis 1948-1959

423-302; 5-time NBA Champion (Lakers 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954); 6 NBA Finals Appearances (Lakers, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1959); 9 Conference Finals Appearances; 10 Playoff Appearances; Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995

Kundla coached the Association’s first dynasty, George Mikan’s Lakers. I’d give him more credit if he wasn’t coaching in a tiny league with hardly any black players, and rules (a tiny lane) that was perfectly suited for Mikan’s skills.

Rudy Tomjanovich: Houston 1991-2003; L.A. Lakers 2004-2005

527-416; 2-time NBA Champion (Rockets 1994, 1995); 2 NBA Finals Appearances (Rockets 1994, 1995); 3 Conference Finals Appearances; 7 Playoff Appearances; 1 Olympic Gold Medal (2000)

Rudy T. can thank Michael Jordan’s first retirement and the once-in-a-generation skills of Hakeem Olajuwon for even allowing his name to be mentioned on this list.

Jerry Sloan: Chicago 1979-1982; Utah 1988-2011

1221-803; 0 NBA Championships; 2 NBA Finals Appearances (Jazz 1997, 1998); 6 Conference Finals Appearances; 20 Playoff Appearances; Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009

The greatest coach to never win a championship, Sloan benefited greatly from coaching the Karl Malone-John Stockton duo for 15 years, one that just happened to run the greatest pick-and-roll the Association has ever seen.

I don’t blame Sloan too much for never winning a title, because his Jazz teams ran into several great Western Conference teams and players throughout his tenure, including Magic’s Lakers, Barkley’s Suns, Olajuwon’s Rockets, Payton’s and Kemp’s Sonics, and Drexler’s Trailblazers. And when they finally broke through and made the Finals, Jordan and the Bulls were waiting for them.

His two superstars also happened to be some of the worst playoff performers of all time. Stockton got memorably dominated in two of their biggest playoff series, the ’92 Conference Finals, when Terry Porter destroyed him (26 points and 8.3 assists per game, compared to Stockton’s 14.3 points and 11.2 assists), and the ’96 Conference Finals, when Gary Payton owned him so badly (20.7 points and 6 assists per game, compared to Stockton’s 9.9 points and 7.6 assists) that it reminded me of that time when Aragorn cut off the Mouth of Sauron's head.

And then there’s Malone, who was famous for choking in pressure situations. He wasn’t horrible in Utah’s back-to-back Finals’ losses to the Bulls, but he was basically always outplayed by MJ in crunch time of all those games, several of which were extremely winnable. He missed two enormous free throws in Game 1 of the ’97 Finals, which led to Jordan’s game winner, and he got stripped by Mike at the end of Game 6 of the ’98 Finals, which ended with iconic push off shot on Bryon Russell.

So what could Sloan do about that? Short of shooting both Malone and Stockton with an elephant gun, fleeing Utah, and inheriting Hakeem or Magic, basically nothing. Like many things with coaching greatness, it comes down to luck. Sloan just never had any, or enough, to break through.

The Top 5

5. Chuck Daly: Cleveland 1981-1982; Detroit 1983-1992; New Jersey 1992-1994; Orlando 1997-1999

2-time NBA Champion (Pistons 1989, 1990); 3 NBA Finals Appearances (Pistons 1988, 1989, 1990); 5 Conference Finals Appearances; 12 Playoff Appearances; 1 Olympic Gold Medal (1992, the Dream Team); Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994

Daly scores major points for being the coach of the Dream Team, the greatest basketball squad ever assembled, as well as being the head man of the meanest, most hated team of all time, the Bad Boy Pistons, who won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990, made the Finals three straight seasons from 1988-1990, and played in five straight Eastern Conference Finals from 1987-1991.

And then there’s this; besides Phil Jackson, I can’t think of a better manager of personalities than Daly. He weathered back-to-back absolutely devastating losses, the ’87 Eastern Finals and the ’88 NBA Finals, kept the locker room together through the awkward Adrian Dantley-for-Mark Aguirre trade during the ’89 season, and figured out a way to make that crazy, insane, ridiculous band of personalities like Dennis Rodman, Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Vinnie Johnson, Isiah Thomas, and John Salley in Detroit play for one another towards something greater than themselves.

I always hate reading overly sentimental and “this guy could never do anything wrong” pieces, but this one was full of enlightening stories and thoughts about Daly’s career and life. He mattered to the people he coached, and along with Isiah Thomas, he was able to push those Detroit teams to heights far beyond their talent level. It’s one of the few times in NBA history that a coach, by sheer force of personality, was able to elevate the overall play of the roster.

4. Gregg Popovich: San Antonio 1996-present

5-time NBA Champion (Spurs 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014); 6 NBA Finals Appearances (Spurs 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2014); 9 Conference Finals Appearances; 17 Playoff Appearances

Pop is this generation’s Red Auerbach, coaching Tim Duncan, this generations Bill Russell. Like Auerbach and Russell, Pop was fortunate to grab Duncan in the draft and follow that up by spending the next decade-plus winning championships with them. Pop’s brilliance has been well documented, and was evident in last year’s Finals, when the Spurs absolutely murdered the Heat with ball movement, built around the foundation of the unselfish Duncan-Parker-Ginobili trio. He adopted his offensive philosophy around the personnel he had on the roster, going from a more traditional, post up approach when he had the Duncan-David Robinson twin towers look, to a drive-and-kick offense in the mid-to-late 2000s when Parker and Ginobili emerged as All Stars. Along the way, he surrounded his stars with the right veteran players, guys who willingly bought into their roles like Avery Johnson, Stephen Jackson, Boris Diaw, Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, and even Steve Kerr.

I’m not ready to complete sum up Pop’s career yet, because he’s still got at least a few seasons of coaching left. But for now, we’ll stick him at number four.

3. Pat Riley: L.A. Lakers 1981-1990; New York 1991-1995; Miami 1995-2003, 2005-2008

5-time NBA Champion (Lakers 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988; Heat 2006); 9 NBA Finals Appearances (Lakers 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989; Knicks 1994; Heat 2006); 12 Conference Finals Appearances; Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008

I went back and forth on the Riley-Pop debate for like three days before finally settling on Riley because he won big in three different cities while embracing several different, distinct styles. He won four titles with the Showtime Lakers, implemented thug ball in New York (and gave Jordan two of his toughest tests on his journey to 6 championships), and assembled a Miami team that immediately took off when he replaced Stan Van Gundy with himself during the ’06 season. His late ‘90s Heat teams also played great defense, and were entrenched in four of the worst offensive series in the history of the basketball with the Knicks.

Riley’s Knicks and Heat teams were never able to get by Jordan’s Bulls, but I don’t think he gets enough credit for how hard he made Jordan work for his points. Just look at the ’93 Eastern Conference Finals, a six game war that saw MJ just shoot 40% from the floor, or the ’97 ECF, where the Heat defense forced him to shoot a paltry 38.7%, including Game 4, where Mike was a shockingly bad 9 for 35. His Lakers years produced the unquestioned best team of the ‘80s, but it’s hard for me to make the “Riley was an elite coach” case when he had Magic and James Worthy, the perfect point guard-wing player combo for the fast break, and Kareem, who had the most unstoppable shot in the history of the game. 

To me, Riley cemented himself as one of the greats in the profession when he transformed the Ewing-led Knicks from a crumbling disappointment into a legitimate championship contender in the span of one season. Don’t forget that this team finished 39-43, 8^th in the East, and got dunked hard out of the playoffs by Jordan and the Bulls in the first round of the ’91 Playoffs, the year before Riley arrived. And the scene in New York wasn’t pretty when he landed there for the first time as the new Knicks’ head man. Ewing’s knees were failing, the roster around him didn’t have anyone who was close to being an All Star, and their was an imminent dynasty brewing in Chicago.

Riley did the shrewdest, dirtiest, and most intelligent thing possible; he turned the team into the Bad Boy Pistons moved East, revitalizing Ewing’s career and basketball in the Big Apple in the process. They already had a bunch of intimidating, tough, “I’ll drop kick you in the throat” guys like Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, John Starks, and “the Jordan stopper” Gerald Wilkins already on the roster, and they got even more rugged by trading for Xavier McDaniel, maybe the zaniest NBA player not named Dennis Rodman or Ron Artest, before the ’92 season. Riley encouraged his team to be themselves, meaning they were to grab, chuck, and push around their opponents for 48 minutes. They adopted a “no layup” rule, and Ewing created this angry, “I’ll fight you to the death” persona that was present for the rest of this career.

And for the most part, it worked out pretty well. The ’92 Knicks rebounded to finish 51-31, and they pushed the Bulls to seven excruciating games in the conference semifinals, before coming up short when Jordan destroyed them in Game 7 (he finished with 42 points). The officiating also tightened up greatly in that 7^th game, thanks to Phil Jackson (more on that in a minute). New York, motivated by the defeat, responded angrily the next season by going 60-22, finishing with the best record in the East, and blowing through the first two rounds of the playoffs to set up a rematch with the Bulls in the Conference Finals. The first two contests of the series were in Madison Square Garden, and the Knicks knocked Chicago around in both games to take a quick 2-0 series lead. Things were looking great for the Knickerbockers, until they suddenly weren’t. They squandered a terrible Jordan shooting performance in Game 3 (he was just 3 for 18) and got blown out by 20, got assassinated by MJ in Game 4 when he dropped 54 points, lost a devastating Game 5 back in New York when Charles Smith got fouled/blocked four times just before the buzzer by Jordan, Pippen, and Horace Grant. It was over after that, almost as quickly as it had begun. No one was going back to Chicago Stadium for Game 6 and beating the Bulls. Chicago won 96-88, and moved onto the Finals.

The Knicks blew that series, one of the most heartbreaking basketball defeats of the ‘90s. I’d blame Riley more if he wasn’t facing MICHAEL FREAKING JORDAN (there was no way anybody was beating Mike that season; he was at his zenith).

Thanks to Jordan’s unexpected retirement after the season, the Knicks were able to get over the hump and make the ’94 Finals, where they took a 3-2 lead over the Rockets,  going back to Houston for the final two games of the series. At the end of Game 6, Starks had his three point attempt to win the title dramatically blocked by Hakeem Olajuwon, and then followed it up with the worst game of his career in Game 7; he shot just 2 for 18 from the field, including 0 for 10 in the 4^th quarter. Riley took a lot of heat (and should have) for sticking with Starks throughout the game, and allowing him to continue to shoot, despite the fact that he was murdering his team’s chances in the most important game of basically everyone on the court’s career. Riley left after the ’95 season, a year that ended when Ewing missed a very makeable layup in Game 7 of the Pacers’ series. Four seasons of overachieving for Riley’s Knicks, and it was over. Despite the fact that they never won the title, I give him immense credit for maximizing the Ewing era in New York, and building a championship contender in one of the most competitive stretches in league history around a big man with hardly any post moves, no crunch time chops, and declining athleticism. He pushed all the right buttons and took advantage of holes in the rule book to build the most physical team possible, a team that’s reason for success had virtually nothing to do with their talent level.

Much like how the Bad Boy Pistons embodied Chuck Daly, the Knicks were very much a physical expression of Riley’s personality. He was one of the best coaches in the league with Showtime, and the leader of that group, but those teams in L.A. didn’t quite feel like Riley. The Thugball Knicks did. They were the incarnation of Riley’s brain, genius, and influence on the court.

2. Red Auerbach: Washington (BAA) 1946-1949; Tri-Cities Blackhawks 1949-1950; Boston 1950-1966

938-479; 9-time NBA Champion (Celtics 1957, 1959-1966); 10 NBA Finals Appearances (Celtics 1957-1966); 19 Playoff Appearances; Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969

Auerbach’s career is the perfect example of when coaching genius meets a historic talent. Red began to plant the seeds of the Celtic dynasty years before Russell arrived in Boston, as he drafted Bill Sharman before the ’52 season, stole Bob Cousy in one of those weird early ‘50s NBA roster moves (you can read the details here), and added guys like Frank Ramsey.

And then, before the ’57 season, it happened. Red, realizing that Russell’s defense was game, and maybe even league-changing, traded future Hall of Famers Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan to the Hawks for the rights for Russell. Considering what happened afterwards, isn’t that the most important NBA trade of all time?

Anchored by Russell’s defense that forced opposing teams to constantly take low percentage shots (there was no three point line then, and most guys didn’t have consistent, reliable jumpers, so a rim protector was even more valuable then), his elite rebounding, and underrated outlet passes that led to quick four point swings for his teams, the Celtics went on to win nine titles during Red’s tenure, and appeared in the Finals 10 times.

So how much credit should Red get? On the one hand, he was extremely fortunate to cross paths with Russ, one of the five greatest players of all time, and the best and most dominant defender to ever set foot on a basketball court. Then again, he did orchestrate the trade, and also surrounded his big man with multiple Hall of Famers, including of the best backcourts ever, Sharman and Cousy, John Havlicek, one of the many forgotten greats from history, and Tom Heinsohn, the last NBA player to remain effective while also smoking an entire pack of Marlboro Reds before every game. Auerbach built that team, and he recognized just how dominant a great shot blocker and rebounder could be in that era of the NBA.

So why not rank Red number one? Because he didn’t start winning titles until he fleeced Russell. What if the Hawks had said no? Would we look at Red the same? Of course not. Russ would’ve been in St. Louis, winning multiple titles there, and Auerbach would just be this guy floating around in obscurity in Boston. Don’t forget that his playoff record with the Celtics pre-Russell was a lowly 10-17. Then Russell shows up and things were never the same. I know it sounds like a lazy criticism, but at this point, we’re basically splitting hairs. Phil Jackson won big in two different cities morphing and managing to of the most hyper-competitive monster teams of all time (Jordan’s Bulls and Shaq’s Lakers), while Red won titles with the best roster year after year, in a small league with hardly any modern centers that could compete with Russell, whose defensive style was perfect and unstoppable in that era. I’d be happy with either guy, but if I had to take one, I’d rather have Jackson… barely.

1. Phil Jackson: Chicago 1989-1998; L.A. Lakers 1999-2004, 2005-2011

1155-485; 11-time NBA Champion (Bulls 1991-1993, 1996-1998; Lakers 2000-2002, 2009-2010); 13 NBA Finals Appearances (Bulls 1991-1993, 1996-1998; Lakers 2000-2002, 2004, 2008-2010); 14 Conference Finals Appearances; 20 Playoff Appearances Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007

The arguments against ranking Jackson this high are easy:

1. He coached Jordan, Pippen, Shaq, and Kobe, all at the peak of their powers.
2. He, besides a brief time in the mid 2000s, always coached teams that were title contenders when he took over.
3. The famed triangle offense, popularized by his teams in Chicago and L.A., wasn’t even created by Jackson. The credit goes to his lead assistant, Tex Winter. The Zen Master was just smart and observant enough to incorporate it onto his ball clubs.

Couldn’t I argue that Phil was just along for the ride? Anybody could’ve won titles with the teams he had right? Sure, they probably could have. So why put Jackson at number one?

It’s simple really. He’s the greatest motivator of talent and manager of egos in the history of sports. He reigned Jordan in, and helped him channel his competitiveness and immense gifts into the betterment of the team. He held the “this is going to blow up in our faces at any moment” Shaq-Kobe relationship together for FIVE years, winning three titles with them despite the fact that they hated each other. No one was better at working the refs from game-to-game in a series, and no one delivered little subtle hints and motivational tricks to his team through the media better than Jackson. He wasn’t an X’s and O’s thinker, and he didn’t pretend to be one. Instead, he focused his thoughts and words on what he knew best, the human psyche. Jackson understood people and how they thought, and he knew how to make them work together towards something greater than individual numbers or statistics. He, like Riley, Auerbach, and Pop, consistently maximized the elite talent he had.

And if you still aren’t convinced, the numbers don’t lie. 55% of the seasons he coached ended with titles, and he won 70.4% of his games, the best mark in league history. Plus, if you going season-to-season, how many years could you say that his teams underachieved? Maybe once, 2004, when his clearly more talented Lakers’ team got Mike Tyson'd right in the face by the defensive juggernaut and more team-oriented Pistons. But how about overachieving teams? His ’94 Bulls team, the one without Jordan, won 55 games and came within a single game and a phantom call by Hue Hollins of the Eastern Finals, thanks to one of Phil’s best coaching jobs, and Scottie’s MVP level play. Plus, he got Dennis Rodman and Ron Artest, the two craziest and most complex NBA players ever, to buy in without completely destroying teams that were great enough to win titles, something both guys had done before.

So yeah, sure, there were a zillion basketball coaches who could draw up a better play in a huddle than Phil. But the ability work with and lead a group of men? There was no one better.