Very often we remember the players who have won more rings or the teams with more titles, but little credit is given to the mind behind the victories. In order for a team to be competitive it must be composed of champions, but without a guiding spirit that leads it to victory, it goes nowhere.
The figure of the coach on the other hand, is the first to be blamed if the team does not win, but the ranking that we are about to show you is made up of gentlemen who do not know the word “defeat”.
Let’s go and see who are the five coaches who have won the most NBA titles ever!
NBA Coaches Most Winning
5. Pat Riley
As a player he was a decent member of a formidable team like the Lakers of the 70s; in his 5 years in yellow-purple he won only one title, so he did not wait any longer to become head coach to play his winning cards.
5 NBA championship trophies, 4 with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Showtime Lakers; the other making Dwyane Wade’s star shine in Miami, with the dual role of GM-coach.
In addition, to enrich his trophy cabinet there are 3 coach of the year awards and 9 appearances at the All-Star Game (2nd behind Auerbach), all this after his first title as an assistant coach, a role that apparently did not suit him.
4. Gregg Popovich
He created a dynasty in San Antonio, with destiny ready to join him in the starting five when the Draft ball granted him the first pick in 1997.
Six finals played, five won and only one lost (at the last breath in game 7 due to LeBron James), painting over the years a perfect picture starting from David Robinson, passing through Tim Duncan, up to Kawhi Leonard, building one of the best teams in NBA history.
Pop’s results speak for themselves: 20 consecutive years in the playoffs, almost 70% of wins in regular season and 5 NBA rings in R.C. Buford’s office.
3. John Kundla
A name that is a bit old-fashioned and little known today, but if the Lakers are the most successful team in the NBA (tied with the Boston Celtics), much of the credit goes to this man.
When the franchise had just moved from Detroit to Minneapolis, Kundla put his DOP brand on the team, achieving the first three-peat in game history, winning consecutively from 1952 to 1954.
John has put 5 NBA titles and 4 consecutive appearances at the All-Star Game in his trophy cabinet; moreover, compared to other coaches in the ranking, he has the best ring-season ratio as a coach (5 rings in 11 total years).
2. Red Auerbach
No one has been able to dominate a decade like Auerbach, the only coach to play 10 consecutive finals and win a total of 9 rings, 8 of which were consecutive.
When Red sat on the Celtics bench, he had the best players: Cousy, Ramsey, Sanders, K.C. Jones, Heinsohn, Havlicek, Jones and the inevitable Bill Russell.
All Hall of Famers faithfully accompanied by their head coach, who in his career has risen to legendary status, although he was awarded only once as Coach of the Year.
In his trophy cabinet there are no missing appearances at the All-Star Game (11, absolute record). So, reading these lines you will realize that only one adjective fits best with Red Auerbach: winning.
1. Phil Jackson
The title of his book “Eleven Rings” doesn’t say it all, but it makes fans aware that he is the most successful and relevant coach in league history.
Coach in different eras, with stars like Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. His Zen philosophy, his free spirit and his innovative ideas to be implemented on the court have made him what is now idealized as a point of arrival.
Six titles with the Chicago Bulls, a team with a losing history, but with Phil on the bench and His Airness on the court they achieved a full sweep of victories in the finals played. Then came the third three-peat, that with Kobe and Shaq’s Lakers.
After dominating the 90s and early 2000s (tying Auerbach’s 9 rings), Jackson took a small break, but returned to win again, always in yellow-purple, in the 2009-2010 biennium.
In doing so, Phil Jackson has won 11 NBA titles as a coach, becoming the GOAT of coaches.
Leaderboard Coaches with more NBA titles
| # | Coach | Titles | Seasons |
| 1 | Phil Jackson | 11 | 20 |
| 2 | Red Auerbach | 9 | 20 |
| 3 | John Kundla | 5 | 11 |
| Pat Riley | 5 | 24 | |
| Gregg Popovich | 5 | 25 | |
| 6 | Steve Kerr | 4 | 8 |
| 7 | Chuck Daily | 2 | 14 |
| Alex Hannum | 2 | 12 | |
| Tom Heinsohn | 2 | 9 | |
| Rod Holzman | 2 | 18 | |
| K.C. Jones | 2 | 10 | |
| Bill Russell | 2 | 8 | |
| Rudy Tomjanovich | 2 | 13 | |
| Erik Spoelstra | 2 | 13 | |
| 15 | Al Attles | 1 | 14 |
| Larry Brown | 1 | 27 | |
| Rick Carlisle | 1 | 19 | |
| Al Cervi | 1 | 9 | |
| Larry Costello | 1 | 10 | |
| Billy Cunningham | 1 | 8 | |
| Bill Flitch | 1 | 25 | |
| Edward Gottlieb | 1 | 9 | |
| Lester Harrison | 1 | 7 | |
| Buddy Jeannette | 1 | 7 | |
| Tyronn Lue | 1 | 5 | |
| Dick Motta | 1 | 25 | |
| Nick Nurse | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Ramsay | 1 | 21 | |
| Doc Rivers | 1 | 22 | |
| George Senesky | 1 | 3 | |
| Bill Sharman | 1 | 7 | |
| Frank Vogel | 1 | 10 | |
| Paul Westhead | 1 | 6 | |
| Lenny Wilkens | 1 | 32 | |
| Mike Budenholzer | 1 | 8 |
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Author: Zeno Schievenin
April 8, 2023 | 2:38 am
