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NBA: Greatest head coach in each team’s franchise history

By Josh Cornelissen

Gregg Popovich, Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Gregg Popovich, Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Greatest head coach in Golden State Warriors history: Steve Kerr, 2014-Present

This may seem like a case of recency bias and there is a reasonable case for that. The Golden State Warriors, after all, have employed some of the very best head coaches in NBA history. Bill Sharman coached the San Francisco Warriors for two seasons before he helped the Los Angeles Lakers win the 1972 title. Al Attles brought a championship to the Bay Area in 1975.

Many would point to Don Nelson, who was without a doubt the franchise’s most prolific head coach before Steve Kerr was hired. Nelson first coached the team from 1988 to 1998, overseeing the “Run TMC” days of the franchise. He had a second stint in the late 2000s, including coaching the special “We Believe” Warriors season in 2006-07.

Yet even with Nelson’s accomplishments, his many wins and signature moments, the brilliant Kerr era cannot be ignored. The fewest games the Warriors have ever won with Kerr was 57 in 2018-19. Only once before 2014 when Kerr took over did the Warriors win as many as 57 wins and they had never won more than 59. His teams have averaged 64.4 wins per season.

Zooming out to the entirety of NBA history, only 18 times did a team win more than the Warriors have averaged. Kerr ranks sixth all time in titles with three and the Warriors have won their Conference five straight seasons.

Their five appearances in the NBA Finals over the past five years are more than 20 franchises have in their entire history. Only the Bill Russell Boston Celtics have matched Kerr’s five straight NBA Finals runs.

In just five years, Kerr has already tallied 322 wins, in the top 50 all time, despite just starting his coaching career. His .785 winning percentage is the highest all time among coaches. In the postseason, he ranks 12th all time in wins and first in winning percentage.

Zooming back in, Kerr blows away the competition simply from the Warriors franchise. Only Nelson and Attles have more career wins than Kerr, both with a significantly lower win percentage.

Of course, Kerr’s success is tied into the talent of his team, including the game-breaking Stephen Curry. But the way the team elevated when he arrived illustrates just how much a coach can matter. No coach in NBA history has had the start to his career that Kerr has.