Being an NBA head coach is no easy task, but they are well compensated and earn a chance to lead a group of talented athletes from the sidelines. Some of the greatest coaches ever include Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, and Gregg Popovich, and the elite coaches can have a transformative effect on a team. In the 2023-24 season, we have a selection of excellent head coaches.
We have ranked all 30 NBA head coaches into five tiers: The Best Coach, Overachievers, Excellent Performers, Not Good Enough, And Hot Seat. While it is never easy to name the single best head coach in the NBA or even divide the rest into tiers, we have the updated list for the 2023-24 campaign so far.
The Best Head Coach
Michael Malone
In terms of consistency, team performance, and all-around play of a roster, Mike Malone has been the best coach in the NBA this season. The Denver Nuggets rank 14th in offense and 4th in defense and have a strong 22-10 record in the Western Conference. Malone‘s critics have completely disappeared following the championship run last year and the Nuggets look ready to make their second-straight Finals appearance. Denver has the best team in the West in terms of player fit and every single one of them knows their role, so the head coach deserves a ton of credit for that.
Overachievers
Mark Daigneault, Jamahl Mosley, Chris Finch, Ime Udoka, Nick Nurse, Rick Carlisle, Erik Spoelstra
The Oklahoma City Thunder have been a great team this season but they have come of age far quicker than any of us would have thought. Ranking 5th in offense, the Thunder hold a 19-9 record and are led by an exciting core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren. Daigneault has been patient with his team but they are rewarding him with some exciting play on both ends of the court. Expect the Thunder to be a threat in this season’s playoffs although they might be a few more years away from being a legitimate title contender.
Who saw the Orlando Magic coming? They rank 5th in defense and are finding most of their offense through second-year star Paolo Banchero (21.3 PPG) and Most Improved Player candidate Franz Wagner (20.5 PPG). Jamahl Mosley was overlooked at the start of the season but he has done an admirable job by embracing the underdog role and achieving some great things in the West so far, holding a surprising 18-11 record.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were expected to be better this season but nobody would have guessed that they would grab the first seed in the Western Conference. Spearheaded by Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, and Jaden McDaniels, the Timberwolves currently hold a 22-7 record which is the first seed in the Western Conference. Minnesota is looking to contend for the championship this season and we might have to take them seriously because they are playing excellent basketball. Even with the number of stars on the team, Chris Finch has done an admirable job and is a contender for Coach of the Year.
Nobody expected the Houston Rockets to be competitive in Ime Udoka’s first season. It is obvious that Udoka is an exceptional coach because he has elevated two teams in his first season on two occasions, the former being with the Boston Celtics in the 2021-22 season. Houston ranks 2nd in defense and Udoka has to be the driving force behind that, although the additions of Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks have had a profound effect.
The Philadelphia 76ers lost James Harden yet the team continues to compete at a high level. Joel Embiid is the MVP favorite right now (35.0 PPG), Tyrese Maxey might be the favorite for Most Improved Player (25.9 PPG), and the 76ers rank 4th in offense and 6th in defense. Nick Nurse has been known to be a defensive mind but he has optimized the offense as well because losing the NBA’s assist leader has not hurt the side at all.
Rick Carlisle has placed the Indiana Pacers on the map this season. The team ranks 1st in PPG and Tyrese Haliburton is the driving force of the team by averaging 24.8 PPG and 12.0 APG on 42.1% shooting from three. Carlisle has found a magical system whereby Haliburton acts as the “Steve Nash” of the team and is doing an admirable job. The Pacers look ready to make the playoffs and Carlisle deserves his respect for that.
Last but not least, Erik Spoelstra has always found a way to overachieve with the Miami Heat as he has done over the past few seasons. Without knocking stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, the Miami Heat roster isn’t exactly considered superteam status. Butler and Adebayo have nailed down the Heat culture in terms of defense and toughness, and they are once again a dark horse to make the Eastern Conference Finals. Spoelstra is one of the best coaches in the NBA because he continues to overachieve with his team.
Excellent Performers
Adrian Griffin, Jacques Vaughn, Willie Green, JB Bickerstaff, Joe Mazzula, Jason Kidd, Mike Brown, Tom Thibodeau, Tyronn Lue
Adrian Griffin has done an excellent job in his rookie season because there was a ton of pressure on him as soon as Damian Lillard was acquired. The time to win is now, and the Bucks are once again an elite team in the Eastern Conference. There hasn’t been much drop-off since Mike Budenholzer got fired because a 22-8 record is very solid and the duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard is clicking.
Jacques Vaughn has done relatively well considering he does not have the talent that other coaches have. The Nets are at .500 and to be fair to Vaughn, only Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas have performed above expectations. Making Bridges look like an All-Star and Thomas a contender for Most Improved Player means Vaughn is on the right track, although he hasn’t found a way to make Ben Simmons a star again (which might never happen).
The New Orleans Pelicans are a very solid team this season, ranking 13th in offense and 13th in defense with stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram leading the way. Coach Willie Green is an exceptional head coach who is only going to get better as he gains experience on the sidelines. The key for the Pelicans is to make the playoffs without the need for a play-in tournament and try to get out of the first round because that would immensely boost the confidence of the team.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a good team in the Eastern Conference and experienced coach JB Bickerstaff deserves some credit for that. He has a talented roster featuring Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Evan Mobley, so wins are expected, but the fact that the Cavaliers rank 8th in defense is a testament to coaching principles. Hopefully, Bickerstaff can find a way to boost the 23rd-ranked offense because that could be the next step.
Joe Mazzula had his critics last year but he did very well in his rookie season by taking the Boston Celtics to one game away from the NBA Finals. This season, Mazzula is at his best by guiding an extremely talented Celtics side to 23 wins out of 29 and spearheading a 6th-ranked defense and 3rd-ranked defense. Boston looks extremely scary this season with the additions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, and they might be the favorite to win it all at the end of the year.
Jason Kidd has bounced back this season and guided the Dallas Mavericks to a strong record in the Western Conference. An 18-12 record following a lottery season last year will absolutely work and Kidd has found a way to make the Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving partnership work so far. Luka is averaging 33.5 points and Kyrie is adding 23.0 points per game so as long as this continues to work, the Mavericks will be tough to beat.
The Sacramento Kings are proving that last season was no fluke because coach Mike Brown has the team clicking right now. The Kings rank 8th in offense and have a solid 17-11 record as they look towards another playoff seeding. Finding a way to develop De’Aaron Fox into an All-NBA Team member and continuing the All-Star play of Domantas Sabonis are the things Brown deserves a ton of credit for.
What is the New York Knicks’ ceiling? Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson are an exciting duo but are they good enough to push the team to the Eastern Conference Finals? In all honesty, the Knicks are probably behind the Celtics, Bucks, and 76ers in the East and that could mean another disappointing end to the season. Whether that could spell the end for Tom Thibodeau or not remains to be seen, but so far, the coach has done a great job.
Despite the drama surrounding James Harden and the “load management” that rules the Los Angeles Clippers franchise, Tyronn Lue is doing a great job. He seems to have found a way to make all the egos click as the Clippers have gone 8-2 over the last 10 games and if James Harden can get back to his best, the team is stacked with talent. Lue is a mastermind at in-game adjustments, so it’s no surprise to see him appear on this tier.
Not Good Enough But Have Enough Credit
Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich, Monty Williams, Darvin Ham, Quin Snyder, Taylor Jenkins, Frank Vogel
Steve Kerr is a legend in the game of basketball and his four NBA championships as a coach of the Warriors prove that. Kerr has essentially changed the game with the way he built a dynasty out of shooters, and every coach has mimicked his playing style. However, the dynasty could be toppling very slowly and Kerr has not done good enough to keep it standing firm. Obviously, Kerr won’t be fired because of his status, but he deserves some blame for his side’s average start to the season.
Gregg Popovich is one of the greatest coaches of all time but having four wins for the whole season is simply poor. In fact, it’s surprisingly bad considering how dominant Victor Wembanyama can be at times. To Popovich’s credit, the roster is extremely young and inexperienced, but surely the Spurs have enough talent to get close to .500. As seen with Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich won’t get fired so might as well move on to the next name.
Monty Williams has not been great this season and it’s as simple as that. The former Phoenix Suns coach and 2021 NBA Finalist has only managed to squeeze out two wins with the Detroit Pistons team and they have become a laughing stock around the NBA. Detroit ranks 28th in offense and 26th in defense this season meaning they cannot compete in the NBA against any side. Williams does have credit for his efforts with the Suns in 2021 and also he signed a monster 6-year, $78.5 million deal so the franchise sees him as an asset for the long-term.
Darvin Ham is a likable coach and Lakers Nation accept him, but the coach might have one of the most difficult jobs in the NBA. The Lakers want to win a championship this season since LeBron James and Anthony Davis are still two of the best players in the world. James is posting 25.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game and Davis is chipping in 24.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game so there isn’t a reason why the Lakers should not compete. Instead, they hold a pedestrian 16-15 record and if the team doesn’t manage a top-four seed in the West, people will start looking at Darvin Ham although he isn’t completely on the hot seat yet.
Quin Snyder is a great coach and he proved it by making the Utah Jazz a top team in the Western Conference with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. However, with the Atlanta Hawks, Snyder has not been able to steer the ship that has been going wayward the past few seasons. Trae Young is an offensive superstar but Snyder has not elevated the play of anyone around him. A 12-18 record is not good enough, and Snyder will receive blame although there is widespread belief that he is an excellent coach.
One cannot blame Taylor Jenkins for the fact that Ja Morant has missed the first 25 games of the season through suspension, but it would be incorrect to state that the head coach has done an excellent job considering the Memphis Grizzlies’ 10-19 record. However, Jenkins is trusted to be the coach for the up-and-coming Grizzlies because they have won all four games since Morant has been back and it might not be long before Jenkins begins guiding the team back to a playoff spot.
The Phoenix Suns have not been great and everybody knows that. Blame should be equally spread around the organization, from the coach to the players and management. Kevin Durant is not happy being a leader, Bradley Beal is constantly injured, and the team has zero depth. These things are true and could spell the demise of the Suns at the end of the year. However, Frank Vogel also deserves blame because having Durant available for 25 games and Devin Booker available for 20 games means a 14-15 record is poor.
Hot Seats
Darko Rajakovic, Wes Unseld Jr., Steve Clifford, Will Hardy, Chauncey Billups, Billy Donovan
The Toronto Raptors have not exactly shown any improvement from last season. After finishing with a 41-41 record last season, the team only has an 11-18 record as they rank 22nd in offense and 18th in defense. Other than Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes, the Raptors don’t have much reliable star power but the coach still deserves some blame for the poor season so far.
The Washington Wizards have been a poor team but management should receive blame more than the head coach. Believing that a rebuild around Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole would be the best way to go might be foolish because neither player is considered a leader. The Wizards have a poor 10th-ranked offense which is solid, but their 30th-ranked defense has led to their 5-24 demise.
Steve Clifford is an extremely experienced head coach but that doesn’t mean he is untouchable by any means. The Charlotte Hornets have been dealing with some drama including Miles Bridges accusations and lack of star power outside of LaMelo Ball. However, the coach is normally the first to be blamed so don’t be surprised if Clifford doesn’t hold his job by the end of the season.
The Utah Jazz weren’t supposed to be competing for a championship this season, but having All-Star Lauri Markkanen and role players such as Walker Kessler, Keyonte George, and Talen Horton-Tucker means fans were expecting better than a 13-18 start. Hardy is considered to be a solid coach but he is too young to have any credit in the bank so to speak.
The Portland Trail Blazers are not a good team, only having seven wins. The departure of Damian Lillard kickstarted a complete rebuild and making the playoffs was not a realistic goal. However, a team with Deandre Ayton, Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, and Jerami Grant should do a lot better. The players deserve blame for the poor start but head coach Chauncey Billups needs to be better or his seat will start getting very hot.
It’s about time the Chicago Bulls start their rebuild because going around in circles is not the best way. Whether Chicago ends up trading Zach LaVine or not, Billy Donovan’s time in Chicago could be up. There is enough talent to get the Bulls to at least a .500 record, but instead are five games under .500. Donovan has to be judged on the lack of success because names such as DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic should make up a playoff side.
