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NBA: 15 Harshest Coach Firings Of All Time

By Phil Watson

Jan 25, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt (right) reacts beside forward LeBron James (23) against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland won 108-98. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt (right) reacts beside forward LeBron James (23) against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland won 108-98. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Basketball: NBA Playoffs: Capital Bullets head coach K.C. Jones during game vs New York Knicks. Game 4. Landover, MD 4/5/1974 (Photo by John Iacono /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X18551 TK1 )
Basketball: NBA Playoffs: Capital Bullets head coach K.C. Jones during game vs New York Knicks. Game 4. Landover, MD 4/5/1974 (Photo by John Iacono /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X18551 TK1 ) /

5. Washington Bullets Fire K.C. Jones (May 7, 1976)

K.C. Jones had taken the Washington Bullets to unprecedented heights in his three seasons at the helm, including a franchise-record 60 wins in 1974-75 and a berth in the NBA Finals.

But he had also presided over two seasons that ended with losses in the conference semifinals, to the New York Knicks in 1974 and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1976, and a little more than a week after their Game 7 loss in Cleveland, owner Abe Pollin announced that Jones was out despite a 155-91 record.

Their trip to the NBA Finals in 1975 ended badly as well, as the Bullets were swept ignominiously by a Golden State Warriors team that had won 12 fewer games during the season, the best mark in a Western Conference that was a vacuum at the top with the twin demises of the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks to last-place status.

Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Washington Wizards

The Aftermath For Jones: Jones returned to Boston, where he won eight titles as a player, as an assistant coach in 1977 and was promoted to head coach after Bill Fitch was fired in 1983. He won two titles and reached four straight NBA Finals with the Celtics and later coached the Seattle SuperSonics for a season and a half.

The Aftermath For The Bullets: The Bullets hired Dick Motta shortly after he resigned as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Motta led Washington to an NBA title in 1978 and a return engagement in the Finals in 1979—the last time the franchise has advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs. Washington has had spans of seven, seven and five seasons without postseason appearances in the interim.

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