The premier basketball league in the world, the NBA, started as the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1946. The name was then changed to the NBA in the 1949-50 season, after the BAA merged with its competitor league, the National Basketball League (NBL). 29 teams from the United States and one from Canada compete annually for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The head coach holds the highest position of a team’s coaching staff and is primarily responsible for individual player development and creating tactics based on the opposition's strengths and weaknesses. The legendary Phil Jackson is the most successful coach in NBA history with 11 championships, coaching only two teams, the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers. Meanwhile, Red Auerbach won nine championships with the Boston Celtics.
Also Read: List of Female NBA Coaches
List of NBA Head Coaches for the 2024-25 season
Below is the list of the head coaches for the 2024-25 season:
| Head coach | Team | Start date | Games | Won | Games | Won | Win% |
| Current Season | Career | ||||||
| Quin Snyder | Atlanta Hawks | 2/26/23 | 82 | 40 | 821 | 458 | 55.8% |
| Joe Mazzulla | Boston Celtics | 2/16/23 | 82 | 61 | 246 | 182 | 74% |
| Jordi Fernandez | Brooklyn Nets | 4/22/24 | 82 | 26 | 82 | 26 | 31% |
| Charles Lee | Charlotte Hornets | 9/7/24 | 82 | 19 | 82 | 19 | 23% |
| Billy Donovan | Chicago Bulls | 9/22/20 | 82 | 39 | 800 | 438 | 54% |
| Kenny Atkinson | Cleveland Cavaliers | 6/28/24 | 82 | 64 | 390 | 182 | 46% |
| Jason Kidd | Dallas Mavericks | 6/28/21 | 82 | 39 | 701 | 362 | 51% |
| Michael Malone | Denver Nuggets | 6/15/15 | 79 | 47 | 904 | 510 | 56% |
| David Adelman | Denver Nuggets | 4/08/25 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 100% |
| J.B. Bikerstaff | Detroit Pistons | 7/03/24 | 82 | 44 | 627 | 299 | 47% |
| Steve Kerr | Golden State Warriors | 5/19/14 | 82 | 48 | 875 | 567 | 64% |
| Ime Udoka | Houston Rockets | 4/25/23 | 82 | 52 | 246 | 144 | 58% |
| Rick Carlisle | Indiana Pacers | 6/24/21 | 82 | 50 | 1853 | 993 | 53% |
| Tyronn Lue | Los Angeles Clippers | 10/20/20 | 82 | 50 | 611 | 362 | 59% |
| JJ Redick | Los Angeles Lakers | 6/24/24 | 82 | 50 | 82 | 50 | 61% |
| Taylor Jenkins | Memphis Grizzlies | 6/11/19 | 73 | 44 | 464 | 250 | 53% |
| Erik Spoelstra | Miami Heat | 4/28/08 | 82 | 37 | 1359 | 787 | 57% |
| Doc Rivers | Milwaukee Bucks | 01/26/24 | 82 | 48 | 1978 | 1162 | 58% |
| Chris Finch | Minnesota Timberwolves | 2/22/21 | 82 | 49 | 369 | 209 | 56% |
| Willie Green | New Orleans Pelicans | 7/22/21 | 82 | 21 | 328 | 148 | 45% |
| Tom Thibodeau | New York Knicks | 7/30/20 | 82 | 151 | 998 | 578 | 57% |
| Mark Daigneault | Oklahoma City Thunder | 11/11/20 | 82 | 68 | 400 | 211 | 52% |
| Jamahl Mosley | Orlando Magic | 7/11/21 | 82 | 41 | 328 | 144 | 43% |
| Nick Nurse | Philadelphia 76ers | 6/1/23 | 82 | 24 | 554 | 298 | 53% |
| Mike Budenholzer | Phoenix Suns | 5/11/24 | 82 | 36 | 883 | 520 | 58% |
| Chauncey Billups | Portland Trail Blazers | 6/27/21 | 82 | 36 | 328 | 117 | 35% |
| Mike Brown | Sacramento Kings | 5/9/22 | 31 | 13 | 758 | 454 | 59% |
| Doug Christie | Sacramento Kings | 12/27/24 | 51 | 27 | 51 | 27 | 52% |
| Gregg Popovich | San Antonio Spurs | 12/10/96 | 82 | 34 | 2291 | 1422 | 62% |
| Darko Rajaković | Toronto Raptors | 6/13/23 | 82 | 30 | 164 | 55 | 33% |
| Will Hardy | Utah Jazz | 6/29/22 | 82 | 17 | 246 | 85 | 34% |
| Brain Keefe | Washington Wizards | 5/29/24 | 82 | 18 | 121 | 26 | 21% |
FAQs on NBA head coach
A. Gregg Popovich, the coach of the San Antonio Spurs, has been head coach of the franchise as of May 2025.
A. Larry Brown has coached nine different teams, which is the most amongst head coaches.
A. There are a total of 30 head coaches in the NBA. One for each team.
A. Ryan Saunders is the youngest coach in NBA history, who was 33 years old when he was selected as the coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
