Hoops Habit
Fansided

NBA: Best player and coach pairing from each team’s history

By Tony Pesta

LOS ANGELES - MARCH 2: Tim Duncan #21 of the San Antonio Spurs talks with head coach Gregg Popovich during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on March 2, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The Spurs won 106-78. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2009 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES - MARCH 2: Tim Duncan #21 of the San Antonio Spurs talks with head coach Gregg Popovich during the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on March 2, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. The Spurs won 106-78. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2009 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
13 of 31
Next
NBA
(Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Best coach/player pairing in Indiana Pacers history: Larry Bird & Reggie Miller

Though Larry Bird’s coaching career never came close to being as memorable as his time playing for the Boston Celtics, he still had his moments with the Indiana Pacers.

Learning from one of the greatest shooters in league history, Reggie Miller blossomed into a great shooter in his own right. By the end of his career, Miller would become the league’s all-time leader in career 3-pointers, only to be passed by Ray Allen.

Bird and Miller only spent three seasons together. In this time, they reached back-to-back Conference Finals and peaked in the NBA Finals. In the 2000 NBA Playoffs, Miller averaged 24.0 points per game as the Pacers fell just two games short of winning the championship.

Each season ended in disappointment, but this was easily the most successful three-season stretch in Pacers history. They finished with an overall 147-67 regular-season record and a 52-32 record in the postseason.

In his first season as head coach, Bird won the NBA’s Coach of the Year Award. Ending his coaching career only two years later, Bird and Miller came bitterly close to capturing a championship together.