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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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Red Auerbach
Red Auerbach. (Photo by NBA Photos/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Greatest head coach in Boston Celtics history: Arnold “Red” Auerbach, 1950-66

The Boston Celtics have been a powerhouse of a franchise for nearly three-quarters of a century, winning titles and challenging for supremacy of the Eastern Conference. As such, the team has had several successful coaches. There are a handful of strong candidates for the greatest in team history.

Bill Russell deserves major accolades as the first black head coach in NBA history, leading the Celtics two a pair of titles as a player/coach. Tommy Heinsohn followed Russell and won another two titles.

Bill Fitch won a title during the early years of Larry Bird’s career, while K.C. Jones won 56 postseason games and another pair of titles. Doc Rivers led the Celtics to two NBA Finals and one title in 2008.

Even that level of success is simply swept away by the brilliance that was Arnold “Red” Auerbach. This was a man who would taunt opposing teams by lighting a “victory cigar” when he was certain the other team had lost, no matter how early in the game it was. He was unafraid of the opinions of anyone, whether it was revolutionizing basketball strategy or starting an all-black lineup in the NBA Finals.

Auerbach’s nine titles with the Celtics are the most with a single team for any coach in league history. He won 795 games in the regular season and another 90 in the postseason. From 1957 to 1966, only once did a team other than the Celtics hoist the trophy.

He would go on to be the general manager and team president of the Celtics after he left the sideline, where he was wildly successful and helped the team win another seven titles. His personality became part of who the Celtics were. In the vein of Vince Lombardi with the Green Bay Packers, he was a defining figure in the history of the league and the Celtics franchise.