- Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, and Gregg Popovich are among the coaches in the conversation as the best NBA coach of all time.
- Jackson has the highest winning percentage at .704.
- Riley was the fastest coach to 500 wins.
Basketball lines available at BetMGM’s sportsbook include the odds for the NBA Coach of the Year award, other prestigious player awards, and division winners.
But who among the long list of legendary tacticians in the league’s history is considered the best coach in NBA history? Is he one of the top 15 coaches in league history? And how many championships did he win during his time in the NBA?
Additionally, who was the fastest coach to have 500 wins??
Who Is the Best NBA Coach of All Time?
Phil Jackson is the best NBA coach because he won the most championships, 11, doing so with the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s and Los Angeles Lakers in the ’00s.
Six of those rings were with the Bulls, and the other five were courtesy of the Lakers. Because of this incredible feat, he was named one of the top 15 coaches in league history during the NBA 75th anniversary season in 2022.
11x NBA champion as a Head Coach.
Phil Jackson has been named one of the top 15 coaches in NBA History! #NBA75https://t.co/68MUbaNxmt
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) February 11, 2022
Who Has the Best Basketball Coaching Record & Win Percentage?
| Coach | Record (before 2024-25 season) | Win Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Phil Jackson | 1,155-485 | 0.704 |
| Billy Cunningham | 454-196 | 0.698 |
| K.C. Jones | 552-306 | 0.674 |
| Red Auerbach | 938-481 | 0.661 |
| Steve Kerr | 519-274 | 0.653 |
| Pat Riley | 1,210-694 | 0.636 |
| Gregg Popovich | 1,388-821 | 0.629 |
| Les Harrison | 295-181 | 0.620 |
| Tom Heinsohn | 427-263 | 0.619 |
| Mike Brown | 441-286 | 0.610 |
Before the start of the 2024-25 season, Phil Jackson and Billy Cunningham had the best record and highest winning percentages in league history. Jackson has a record of 1,155-485 (0.704%), and Cunningham has 454-196 (0.698%).
What makes these winning percentages even more impressive is they coached over 500 NBA games, with Jackson coaching 1,640 and Cunningham 650.
They are followed by K.C. Jones (0.674), Red Auerbach (0.661), and Steve Kerr (0.653) to round out the top five. Among the top five coaches on the list, Kerr has the opportunity to improve his winning percentage further because he’s still the current head coach of the Golden State Warriors.
Who Is the Fastest Coach to 500 Wins in NBA History?
Pat Riley is the fastest coach to 500 wins in NBA history, achieving the feat in 684 games.
He was named among the top 15 coaches in league history.