NBA Power Rankings: 15 Most Controversial Coaches in NBA History
NBA coaches rarely create controversy, but there are times when even the best of the best come out in a negative light.
They are in a in a very public position and when controversy strikes, it's hard to avoid the fallout.
Even the long revered and respected Zen Master, Phil Jackson, is no stranger to controversy. There are times when even he opens his mouth and says things that really have no place.
So, who are the most controversial head coaches in NBA history?
15. Kurt Rambis
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Kurt Rambis is better served as an assistant coach.
After all, if it wasn't for the Minnesota Timberwolves front office, Kevin Love would be getting less minutes than Anthony Tolliver.
Rambis has trouble recognizing talent when it's staring right up at him,
He claimed that he didn't play Love and Al Jefferson last season together because they clogged up the Wolves offense.
Well, if you look at Love's perimeter shooting and Al Jefferson's low post scoring, it's hard to imagine why it would be difficult pairing the two together.
14. George Karl
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George Karl is one of the greatest coaches in NBA history. He has long enjoyed great success over his lengthy career in the league.
However, with the good comes the bad.
Karl had a reputation for going on power trips and unnecessarily wielding that power over his own players. Some say that he used to abuse his power and step over some boundaries causing friction between him and some players.
13. Mike Brown
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Mike Brown was hired to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers for his very first gig at the top.
At the conclusion of the 2008-09 NBA season, Brown was awarded the NBA Coach of the Year award after the Cavaliers finished with a 66-16 record. While he was an overwhelming favorite in the voting, he was seen by many in the public eye to be an undeserving recipient.
Brown, like most people in the Cavaliers organization, had little control over LeBron James and the team. Brown didn't even draw up the offense. He handed that job to one of his assistants.
At one time, Brown even admitted that James ignored him at times and ran whatever offensive sets he felt like.
Some went as far to say that Brown was co-Coach of the Year and James was on the other end of that award.
12. Tim Floyd
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Tim Floyd was given the unenviable task of replacing Phil Jackson.
While Floyd wasn't in the best situation when he took over for Jackson and a depleted Bulls team, it took him 239 contests to win 49 games.
The team regressed nearly every season he was there and his four years in Chicago was filled with feuds with players and upper management. The Chicago media believed that the only reason he remaining in Chicago was because he was a favorite of general manager Jerry Krause.
He stirred controversy again in 2002 when he was hired to coach the Hornets. His track record was anything but desirable and it was a questionable move on the part of the Hornets.
11. John Kuester
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In a November game against the Golden State Warriors, head coach John Kuester got into a very public tangle with Tayshaun Prince.
The two argued during a timeout and Prince was sent to the bench. When Prince continued to argue with his coach, Kuester attempted to get a security guard to remove him from the bench.
If it weren't for assistant coach Darrell Walker, the two could have gotten physical after Kuester attempted to approach Prince.
10. Mike Dunleavy
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Mike Dunleavy stepped down as head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers late last season.
Technically, he fired himself since he was also the general manager.
Dunleavy's tenure under owner Donald Sterling was marred by bickering, criticism and ineptitude on the part of the franchise.
After he was fired as general manager, Sterling tried to terminate his contract so as to not pay him the $6.75 million remaining salary he was owed.
Finger pointing, allegations of fraud and plenty of ugly business ensued for months to come.
9. P.J. Carlesimo
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Well, this has a lot to do with the instability of Latrell Sprewell and less to do with Carlesimo as a coach.
While most of the situation was blamed on Sprewell—as it rightfully should have been—there were accusations of Carlesimo instigating Sprewell at every turn and even using racial slurs to provoke the mercurial player.
The supposed investigation never got anywhere, but Carlesimo did have a reputation for being a tyrant.
8. Paul Westhead
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Paul Westhead was extremely successful running the Los Angeles Lakers. He led the team to a championship in his first year prowling the sidelines.
However, he could never get along with his players. It was rumored that he had little to no support from the players and that ultimately led to him being fired.
7. Don Nelson
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Don Nelson is still respected in NBA circles as a great basketball mind, but as his career came to a close, his senility started being questioned by fans.
Nelson made puzzling decisions with his rotations and he seemed to lose grasp with reality.
For instance, he tried to convert 6'3" point guard, Acie Law, into the team's small forward saying that he was a natural at that position.
Nelson began to fall in love with smaller and smaller players and his lineup shrunk to new lows with all the out of position players.
A once-great coach became a joke as he was slowly phased out of the NBA.
6. Scott Skiles
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While Skiles is a good NBA coach, he always gets jabbed at by people saying that the only reason he continues to coach is to support all the illegitimate kids that he has.
Skiles is rumored to have a minimum of six illegitimate children and up to as many as eight.
Headband-gate also sticks out from his tenure in Chicago. Skiles banned the use of headbands by players and he got into a feud with Ben Wallace over the trivial issue.
5. Larry Brown
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Larry Brown had a disastrous tenure with the New York Knicks. Of course, it's hard to blame him when he had Isiah Thomas as his boss and Stephon Marbury as his "star player".
His very public feud with Marbury played out like a drama out of a soap opera.
It didn't help that Brown was constantly using the media to lash out at his players and that he couldn't decide on a rotation for more than two games.
He also stepped down from the Charlotte Bobcats coaching position just recently. However, chances are that Michael Jordan was going to fire him and they let Brown save face by publicly saying he was leaving on his own terms.
4. Butch Van Breda Kolff
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Butch van Breda Kolff was known for his big personality, which often served to create a void between him and some of his players.
His most famous feud came at the worst time of the season.
In Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals, Breda Kolff was coaching the Lakers against the Boston Celtics in a monumental game.
Wilt Chamberlain had to come out of the game with six minutes left after being injured, but when he requested a return to the court with three minutes remaining, Breda Kolff refused to put him in until it was too late.
The Lakers ended up losing by two points.
3. Pat Riley
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Pat Riley sparked controversy in 2005 when he took over as head coach for the Miami Heat.
Stan Van Gundy, coach for the Heat at the time, stepped down and claimed it was to spend more time with his family.
Of course, if you really believe that, you are more gullible than a toddler.
Riley clearly saw an opportunity to win a championship with Shaq in town and Dwyane Wade emerging as a superstar. He took advantage of the opening and forced Van Gundy out of town.
2. Isiah Thomas
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Isiah Thomas is controversial for many things, but one of the biggest ones came during the infamous brawl at Madison Square Garden.
In a game against the Denver Nuggets, Thomas purportedly told his players to foul Nuggets players hard in the paint.
That ultimately led to a scuffle between the two teams.
He also had a reputation out of Indiana for not working hard, being a poor communicator with his players and working for little else than his paycheck.
1. Phil Jackson
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During the 2000 NBA playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers were matched up with the Sacramento Kings.
In a rather shocking move, Phil Jackson compared Rick Adelman to Hitler and Jason Williams to Edward Norton's character from American History X, which was essentially his way of calling Williams a white supremacist.
It was intended as a motivational ploy, but that type of tactic is not only degrading, but disgusting to use on Jackson's part.
