The Los Angeles Lakers have won 16 NBA championships in franchise history. Unfortunately for these five coaches, they weren’t a part of any of those teams.
The Los Angeles Lakers have a long, illustrious history that includes 16 NBA titles and more superstars than you can count. As luck would have it, the franchise has been fortunate enough to be coached by some of the game’s greatest.
We all know about Phil Jackson, Pat Riley and John Kundla. All the coaches who led the Lakers to numerous championships get the glory. Today, I want to focus on the guys who didn’t win the rings and still don’t get the recognition they deserve as integral pieces of the puzzle.
They may not have won it all. Some of them may not have even gotten to the NBA Finals. Regardless, they made their presence felt as the leaders of the Lakers even if their times at the helm were rather short. Just so we’re clear, most of the names on this list didn’t last long in the driver’s seat.
No matter which way you try to spin it, these former Los Angeles head coaches deserve your respect.
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So without further ado, let’s take a look at the five best Lakers coaches who never earned a ring. Even with no titles to their names, they made the most of their days leading one of the NBA’s most prolific and successful franchises.