Top 5 NBA black coaches to reach finals ft. Joe Mazzulla
The National Basketball Association has a rich history of talented black players taking center stage but the same cannot be said for black coaches in the NBA. Jason Kidd and Joe Mazzulla's meeting in this year's NBA Finals is only the second time in the league's history that two black coaches are facing off against each other.
This is not an indictment on the ability of coaches, but simply a statement on the number of black coaches there have been in the NBA. Among the few who have reached the NBA Finals, here are the ones that stand out the most.
5 black coaches to make the NBA Finals
#5 Joe Mazzulla (2024 Finals)
Joe Mazzulla was handed the keys to an already talented Boston Celtics roster when former head coach Brad Stevens changed his role to head of basketball operations.
While the team was already stacked when Mazzulla entered, what he's stint as a head coach since then has been nothing short of impressive. He has a 121-43 record and has already led the team to a Finals appearance in only his second season as the head coach.
#4 Doc Rivers (2008 NBA Champion, 2010 Finals)
Doc Rivers started his coaching career with the Orlando Magic but he found the most success as the Boston Celtics head coach. He coached the Celtics for nine seasons from 2004-05 wherein he compiled a record of 416-305.
They were a permanent fixture in the playoffs during that period and even made the NBA Finals twice, facing off against their franchise rival LA Lakers both times. Rivers won the only championship of his career so far back in 2008.
Currently, Rivers is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks where he might have an opportunity to win more titles.
#3 Bill Russell (1968 & 69 NBA champion)
Bill Russell had an incredibly successful playing career, after all, he won a staggering 11 titles.
Aside from winning championships as a Boston Celtics player, he also won multiple rings as a head coach with the Celtics. In the 1968 and 1969 NBA Finals, Russell was the head coach of the Celtics. They clashed with the LA Lakers and prevailed both times.
His achievements as a coach earned him the distinction of being only one of the two black coaches in league history to win multiple championships.
#2 Tyronn Lue (2016 NBA champion, 2017 & 2018 Finals)
After David Blatt was fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tyronn Lue was promoted from his assistant position to the team's head coach. In his first year helping the team, the Cavs went to the finals to take on the Golden State Warriors for the second straight season.
That was the year where they went down 3-1 in the finals but weathered the storm to come back and win, making Lue one of five coaches to win a title in their first year. Cleveland went on to the Finals two more times under Lue wherein they faced the Warriors each time.
Currently, he is the head coach of the LA Clippers.
#1 K.C. Jones (1984 & 1986 NBA champion, 1975, 1985 & 1987 champion)
This year, fans are being treated to only the second time that two black head coaches are going head-to-head. The only other time that happened was in 1975 when K.C. Jones and the Washington Bullets battled Al Attles and the Golden State Warriors. That year, the Warriors would prevail to become champs.
Jones would remain as the Bullets' head coach for one more season before becoming an assistant for the Bucks in '76-77 and the Celtics from '77-83. In the 1983-84 season, he would once again be named as a head coach for the Boston Celtics.
In his first four years as the team's head coach, they went to the NBA Finals four straight times, winning the championship twice.