NBA: 15 Harshest Coach Firings Of All Time

Honorable Mentions

These coaching firings were head-scratchers in some ways, but didn’t quite make the top 15. These are in reverse chronological order.

Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls: The Bulls pulled the plug on Thibodeau on May 28, 2015, ending a five-year run that included a 255-139 regular-season record. But the Bulls were just 23-28 in the playoffs, however handicapped Chicago was by not having Derrick Rose for almost two full seasons and large chunks of two others. Thibodeau was the NBA Coach of the Year in 2010-11.

Scott Brooks, Oklahoma City Thunder: On April 22, 2015, the Thunder fired Brooks, who had coached the team for all but the first 13 games after their move from Seattle. That came after an injury-riddled season during which Kevin Durant missed 55 games, Serge Ibaka was out for 18 and Russell Westbrook was sidelined for 15. Despite that, Oklahoma City missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker. Brooks was 338-207 in six-plus seasons with the Thunder, going 39-34 in the playoffs, reaching the 2012 NBA Finals and earning Coach of the Year honors in 2009-10.

Related Story: NBA Draft: Best Player Ever Selected in all 60 Spots

Mark Jackson, Golden State Warriors: This one’s not as crazy as it might seem on the surface. Despite leading the Warriors to back-to-back postseason appearances and posting records of 121-109 in the regular season and 9-10 in the playoffs, Jackson and Golden State management butted heads often and he was fired on May 6, 2014, after three seasons on the job.

Vinny Del Negro, Los Angeles Clippers: The franchise’s first division title and a then franchise-record 56 victories in 2012-13 wasn’t enough to get Del Negro a new contract in L.A. His strategic shortcomings and lack of playoff success (the team was 6-11 in two postseasons under Del Negro) offset a 128-102 regular-season mark in three years, including a 96-52 record after the team acquired Chris Paul in 2011. He was told he was done on May 22, 2013.

Avery Johnson, Brooklyn Nets: Johnson took the bullets through two years of rebuilding a franchise during its dying days in New Jersey and made it just 28 games—and a 14-14 record—into its move to Brooklyn, getting the axe on Dec. 28, 2012. It was less than a month after he was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for an 11-4 November, but he was done in by a 3-10 December.

Stan Van Gundy, Orlando Magic: After five seasons, a 259-135 record, a 31-28 playoff record and an NBA Finals berth in 2009, Van Gundy was tossed overboard along with general manager Otis Smith on May 23, 2012, when the Magic decided to blow up everything and rebuild. A preseason trade request by franchise player Dwight Howard greased the skids and CEO Alex Martins did the pushing after the season.

Mike Brown, Cleveland Cavaliers: Brown won Coach of the Year honors in 2008-09 after leading Cleveland to a franchise-record 66 wins and he took LeBron James and a cast of role players to the NBA Finals in 2007. But a 61-21 season was followed by a surprising loss in the second round of the playoffs and Brown was axed on May 25, 2010. Shortly thereafter, James signed with the Miami Heat. As luck would have it, Brown was brought back in 2013-14 but was fired after a single season. Shortly thereafter, James re-signed with the Cavaliers. Brown was 272-138 in his first five-year run, going 42-29 in the playoffs.

Mike Woodson, Atlanta Hawks: Woodson took over the Hawks at rock bottom, going 13-69 in his first season after a massive housecleaning left the franchise basically starting over. Atlanta’s win total increased in each of the next six seasons, to 26 in 2005-06, 30 in 2006-07, 37 and the team’s first playoff berth in nine years in 2007-08, 47 in 2008-09 and 53 in 2009-10. But a pair of second-round exits in his final two years led the Hawks to believe they would get better with a new voice and on May 14, 2010, he was told he was done. The most lopsided sweep in NBA history against the Orlando Magic in the 2010 playoffs didn’t help.

Byron Scott, New Jersey Nets: Two straight NBA Finals and having the club in first place in its division wasn’t enough to prevent Scott from being let go on Jan. 27, 2004. Point guard Jason Kidd (more on him later) told reporters that, “Sometimes change or a different voice is good.” And people wonder why he had a reputation as a coach-killer? In parts of four seasons, Scott was 149-139 (26-56 the year before Kidd was acquired) and was 25-15 in the playoffs.

Paul Silas, New Orleans Hornets: Shortly after being bounced from the playoffs, Silas—who moved with the franchise from Charlotte prior to the 2002-03 season—was fired, along with his entire staff. The move worked out well for the Hornets, who regressed to 41-41 the following season and then to 18-64 in 2004-05. In parts of five seasons with the club, Silas was 186-149 overall and 11-12 in the playoffs.

Mike Dunleavy, Portland Trail Blazers: Sometimes, somebody has to take the fall. That was Dunleavy after a 50-win season that ended with a three-game playoff sweep one year removed from blowing a huge fourth-quarter lead in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals in 2000. The Blazers were 190-106 in four seasons under Dunleavy and 18-18 in the playoffs, but including the playoff sweep, Portland lost 17 of its last 25 games with him at the helm.

Butch Carter, Toronto Raptors: On June 13, 2000, Carter was axed as coach not because of anything on the court, but criticism from team veterans and the perception he was responsible for young star Tracy McGrady’s decision to leave Toronto as a free agent.  The Raptors were 73-92 in parts of three seasons under Carter, but had just gone 45-37 and reached the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 1999-2000.

Rick Adelman, Portland Trail Blazers: A second straight first-round exit from the playoffs couldn’t offset two NBA Finals appearances as the Blazers fired Adelman on May 20, 1994, after five-plus seasons. Adelman was 291-154 in the regular season and 36-33 in the playoffs, but lost in the Finals in 1990 and 1992.

Doug Collins, Chicago Bulls: Yeah, this one turned out OK for the Bulls, but it was still a stunner when Collins was fired July 6, 1989, after leading Chicago to the conference finals. Collins had led the Bulls to a 137-109 record in three seasons and had gone 13-17 in the playoffs, highlighted by a run in 1989 that included pushing the eventual champion Pistons to six grueling games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Paul Westhead, Los Angeles Lakers: Less than two years removed from an NBA title, a change in offensive philosophy (Westhead playing slow-down ball???) and complaints from young star Magic Johnson—who demanded a trade if Westhead weren’t replaced—led to Westhead’s ouster.  Owner Jerry Buss insisted he had already made the decision to replace Westhead—who was 111-50 in parts of three seasons, including 13-6 in the playoffs and a championship in 1980—with assistant Pat Riley, but Magic still took the hit.

Yes, none of these firings made the list of the 15 harshest firings. So let’s commence with the countdown.

Next: Knicks Fire A Legend