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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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Byron Scott, New Jersey Nets
Byron Scott, New Jersey Nets. (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Greatest head coach in Brooklyn Nets history: Byron Scott, 2000-04

Selecting the greatest coach in the history of the Nets — from New York to New Jersey to Brooklyn — is a difficult proposition. The Nets won two ABA championships under Kevin Loughery in 1974 and 1976, but when the franchise joined the NBA and lost Julius Erving, they were a train wreck, despite Loughery’s presence.

The team was largely a bottom feeder for the next few decades, winning just one playoff series from 1977 to 2001. 11 head coaches cycled through during that period and only three finished with winning records coaching the Nets.

The high point of the Nets’ NBA time came just after the turn of the millennium when Byron Scott led them to two consecutive NBA Finals appearances. After a season of turnover, Scott led a revamped roster to three consecutive first-place finishes in the Atlantic Division and three deep postseason runs. In 2002, 2003 and 2004, the team lost to the eventual NBA champions.

Those two NBA Finals trips represent the only two times this franchise ever made it to the Eastern Conference Finals or beyond. He is the only Nets coach with a winning record in the playoffs. Despite coaching just four seasons, his 25 postseason wins are 40 percent of the franchise’s total. In a brief stint, Scott was the best coach in the team’s history.