The Top 7 NBA Coaches We'd Most Like to Play For

If you were an NBA player and you had your pick of the litter, which coach would you play for? Having given it some thought, we came up with a list of our own.

In compiling this list, we considered what players want from their coach. Just like a person in any job, an NBA player wants to be happy and successful. In the NBA that means being on a close-knit and winning team while reaching your personal potential.

Therefore, ideally a player would be a looking for a coach who wins, fosters a productive working environment and develops his players. The coaches here are ranked according to how well they meet those three standards.

All coaching records were obtained from Basketball Reference’s NBA Coach Registry. Yearly performances can be obtained by clicking on the coach’s name in the registry.

7. Rick Adelman

Rick Adelman is eighth in wins all-time among NBA coaches, and he is 10th on the list of postseason wins. He is one of only four coaches in NBA history who has at least 1,000 regular-season wins and a winning record in the postseason.

He is also the only one of those four coaches (the other three being Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and Larry Brown) without an NBA Championship to his credit.

Throughout his career, Adelman has shown an ability to adapt to entirely different types of rosters. He won with the Portland Trail Blazers and Clyde Drexler, who made it to the NBA Finals twice. He did so with the Sacramento Kings, led by Chris Webber, who made it to the Western Conference Finals. He proved it with the Houston Rockets, led by Yao Ming, who made it to the conference semifinals.

Adelman has also developed a wide range of players, and not just the superstars listed above. He has turned late draft picks like Luis Scola into proven role players, and sometimes even All-Stars, such as the case was with Terry Porter.

Adelman’s career success secures him a spot on this list, but his failure to win a title in spite of its duration is why he is no higher.

“When I talked about the prospect of me re-signing, I always said one of the things we’d have to have is a great coach.”  “If it’s true, we’ve got a great coach.” Kevin Love on the rumors circulating shortly after Adelman's hiring, per Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

6. Rick Carlisle

Rick Carlisle is one of four active head coaches who have a championship. He has coached three NBA teams, and in each case, he has taken the team to at least the Conference Finals.

The first team, the Detroit Pistons, made it to the conference finals in 2003 before replacing Carlisle with Larry Brown, even though Carlisle beat Brown to get to the Eastern Conference Finals. Ironically his former team beat his new team, the Indiana Pacers, in the following conference finals and went on to win the championship.

Then he moved to the Dallas Mavericks. His third year there, the team finally won an NBA title, and they did so by avenging themselves against the team which had previously beaten them in the Finals, the Miami Heat.

While Dirk Nowitzki’s heroic postseason was certainly a vital part of the reason why, so was the way Carlisle’s schemes forced the Heat’s LeBron James into situations where he was uncomfortable, in turn causing him to struggle.

Carlisle has a record of winning. His record with developing younger players is a bit more challenged. While he gets some credit for developing Danny Granger while he was with the Pacers, it’s hard to find players under 25 who have had had much success with him.

He has done an outstanding job of working with veterans and you would think that would mean veterans would be coming to him. Recent history, however, shows that players aren’t flocking to play in Dallas.

 "Rick had a great four years here obviously. He took us to the promised land with a team that probably nobody thought could do it. I think he found a good mix over the years of stressing defense a lot and giving (Jason) Kidd some movement, giving him some freedom on the offensive end. Sometimes he did a good job getting out of the way and just letting us play and if he saw things are not going that well, call some plays and kind of pull us back in."Dirk Nowitzki on whether the Mavericks should extend Carlisle's contract per Tim MacMahon, ESPN Dallas.

5. Frank Vogel

Frank Vogel is finally starting to receive the credit he deserves as one of the NBA’s finest coaches. He’s molded the Indiana Pacers into the league’s best squads, despite being without an elite NBA player.

There are few teams that you can rank ahead of the Pacers. There’s the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls. Some might argue whether all of those rosters are better than the Pacers, but it’s a moot point. All of those teams have at least one player better than the Pacers' best player, Paul George, on their roster.

Vogel gets the most out of his players and fosters a familial and winning environment. An indication of this was David West not only re-upping with the Pacers this summer, but not even considering going anywhere else.

Vogel’s defensive schemes are nearing the point of rivaling Tom Thibodeau’s. In his two full seasons as head coach, Vogel’s Pacers have had the fourth-most efficient defense in the league. His offense is not quite as impressive, with Indiana having only the 20th-most efficient offense last year, though the absence of Danny Granger probably didn’t help.

His player development skills are undeniable. The obvious name here is George, last season’s Most Improved Player, but other players such as Lance Stephenson have also grown under his leadership. He is rapidly moving up the scale of NBA’s best coaches.

"This is my group. These are my guys. You know, I can't see myself going anywhere else." David West after losing to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Cofnerence Finals.

4. Erik Spoelstra

Erik Spoelstra may be both simultaneously the most overrated and underrated coach in the NBA right now. Some point to the fact that he coached the Miami Heat to back-to-back titles as proof he is a great coach.

Others argue that a monkey of average intelligence could “coach” the Heat with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in uniform.

The truth is in the middle. While it can’t be denied that Spoelstra benefits enormously from having such a talented roster, it is also true that he has unique challenges in coaching them. He did need to figure out how to help the three work together and adjust their games in order to win.

James had to become more of a post-up player than he had been in the past. Wade has become deferential to James, embracing the role of “Robin” over “Batman.”  Bosh moved to center, even though he prefers to play the power forward position. This is all by Spoelstra’s design, and by that design, “small ball” is winning titles.

He’s also made adjustments during many series which have changed the tide, such as inserting Mike Miller into the starting lineup in Game 4 of this year’s finals.

In terms of winning and team management, Spoelstra has shown more than many are willing to give him credit for. Still, in terms of player development, he has yet to show much. Most of the players he’s coached are seasoned veterans.

What growth they’ve shown is more of a result of offseason work they chose to put in than Spoelstra’s direct coaching. Younger players, such as Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers and Joel Anthony have seen little progress.

(Some are going to yell that Spoelstra’s done a great job with Cole. However, there are nine players taken after Cole who have more win shares than he does. That doesn’t point toward growth.)

Spoelstra deserves a spot on this list, but his failure to demonstrate that he can develop younger players keeps him out of the top three.

"I think that’s the most important thing for us, for a coach-player relationship. It’s just trust. Once we started to trust each other, the team started to improve." LeBron James on his relationship with Spoelstra, per  TJ Manotoc of ABS-CBN News.

3. Doc Rivers

Doc Rivers is brilliant with managing his team. With the Boston Celtics' big three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce aging, he managed their playing time and scheduling so that the Celtics always seemed to be better in the postseason than the regular season.

The only two head coaches with more wins are Rick Adelman and Gregg Popovich. Yes, Rivers is a winner.

When it comes to player development, he has been reasonably effective. There are some success stories; the most notable of which is how he brought along Rajon Rondo. Avery Bradley has been developing well, and Jared Sullinger was showing promise before getting hurt. 

Still, for a coach with 14 years of experience, the list of players he’s cultivated could be longer than it is.

While Rivers won one ring with the Celtics and made it to the finals another time, some would argue that he should have done better with what he had there.

If we’re ranking just the best coaches, there might be a solid point in that, but players love Rivers and want to play for him. Just ask Chris Paul. That’s why he’s third on our list.

"I love you, man." Kevin Garnett to Doc Rivers after what would turn out to be their last game together per Jackie MacMullan of ESPN Boston. 

2. Tom Thibodeau

Tom Thibodeau is the fastest coach in NBA history to 100 wins and the only one ever to lead the league in victories his first two years. He also owns the highest winning percentage of any current head coach.

His defensive schemes have been so effective that they’ve changed the NBA. Teams have copied Thibodeau’s principles, and that is forcing offenses to change. (For an outstanding piece detailing just how and why that is, see Zach Lowe of Grantland’s piece here.)

Perhaps the most impressive coaching job by Thibodeau came when he had his lowest winning percentage just last season. The Chicago Bulls, with a roster composed primarily of castoffs, miscreants and late-round picks, managed to “bull'’ their way to the Eastern Conference’s fifth-best record.

Then, with Nate Robinson throwing up on the sidelines, Luol Deng warding off the Grim Reaper and Joakim Noah hobbling around on two bad feet, all amid the din and distraction of Derrick Rose not #returning, the Bulls not only beat the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, but even shocked the Miami Heat to steal Game 1 of the second.

This has become Thibodeau’s resume as a coach. He makes players better, and he makes the teams he coaches greater than the sum of their parts. It’s what led Yahoo!’s  Adrian Wojnarowski to say, “Thibodeau is the rarest commodity in the NBA: an indisputable difference-maker on the bench.”

Derrick Rose went from a rising star to an MVP under Thibodeau. Luol Deng and Joakim Noah have become All-Stars. Jimmy Butler has become one of the biggest draft-day steals in recent memory. Omer Asik, a second-round pick, became a legitimate starting center. There’s no questioning Thibodeau’s player development.

For a while, there was speculation that his yelling would eventually get under his team’s skin. That has not proven to be the case. While he is constantly screaming (perhaps even when he’s alone in the shower), he also has a proven rapport with his team.

Players know Thibodeau always has their backs, regardless of the situation. Even when fans and media have practically begged him to throw a player under the bus (e.g. Carlos Boozer at any given moment), he doesn’t do it.

One question mark with Thibodeau is managing minutes. While some of the complaints are overblown (for instance, Luol Deng’s spinal tap complications are probably not all that relevant to his playing time) others are more realistic. Noah’s history of plantar fasciitis should have kept his playing time down.

If Thibodeau ever gets a healthy team in the playoffs, watch out.

He's someone who loves the game as much as me. And that's pretty hard. You love basketball more than I do, I have to take my hat off to you." Derrick Rose on Tom Thibodeau, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.

1. Gregg Popovich

If all you want in a coach is everything, then Gregg Popovich is your man.

No active coach has won more postseason games (133), conference championships (five) or NBA Championships (four). He is second in wins (905) and games (1328), although five coaches have lost more than his 433. Only Tom Thibodeau (.683) has a better winning percentage than Popovich’s .681, but that’s a minuscule difference, and Thibodeau’s record has a much smaller sample size.

There are three coaches in NBA history with 500 wins who have won 60 percent of both their regular and postseason games. They are Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and Gregg Popovich. Throw in Red Auerbach, and you’ve got your Mount Rushmore of NBA coaches.

Popovich is aptly nicknamed “Pop.” He’s a loving but surly father figure to the club. He yells. He stomps. He growls. He scares badly-dressed sideline reporters. But you always know he’s got the players’ best interest at heart.

He’s a master of the X's and O's. His ability to develop players makes a mockery of the NBA draft as Tim Duncan is the lone lottery pick on a team that remains atop the NBA standings year after year. Popovich keeps winning with waiver-wire pickups, second-round draft picks and D-Leaguers you never heard of.

If I’m a player, I can play for anyone I want and all other things are equal, I choose Pop.

"I don't see how the game of basketball will bring an end to that. I think those guys will be friends until they're dead." Monty Williams on the relationship between Tim Duncan and Popovich per Elizabeth Merrill of ESPN.