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

Greatest head coach in Cleveland Cavaliers history: Mike Brown, 2005-10

The history of the Cleveland Cavaliers is easy to tell, as it revolves around two of the greatest players to ever play the game.

After 15 years of mediocrity, the Cavaliers put together a strong team in the mid-1980s, with multiple winning seasons under the leadership of head coaches Lenny Wilkens and Mike Fratello. But Michael Jordan was an obstacle they could never get past, best illustrated by “The Shot” in 1989.

The team spiraled into futility in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the low point of which was a 17-win season that resulted in the No. 1 pick and hometown LeBron James becoming a Cavalier in 2003. Their success and failure for the next 15 years revolved around James, who led them to the highest heights they have reached as a franchise.

Overseeing James beginning in his third season was Mike Brown, a consummate professional who built strong defenses around James’ shotmaking. Brown coached 492 games with the franchise, totaling 305 wins and more importantly 42 postseason victories, the most in franchise history.

He led the Cavaliers to their first NBA Finals berth in 2007, although the Cavaliers were swept in four games to the San Antonio Spurs in what was a lopsided series.

It’s hard to separate Brown’s success from that of James’ as it is for all superstar players. James returned to Cleveland and went to the NBA Finals once with David Blatt (holder of the highest regular-season winning percentage in franchise history) and three times with Tyronn Lue, who also coached Cleveland to its only NBA title.

Brown’s body of work and consistency give him the nod over Lue, who coached 300 fewer games. He won at least one playoff series in every year he coached, won at least 45 games and were perennial contenders. James may be the driving force behind that success, but Brown deserves and here earns some of the credit as well.