By 
This summer had been the summer of trying things, but I am a sucker for lists and I’m just going to get this bug out of my system here on attack the glass and drop my top 10 all-time lists for point guards, shooting guards, small forwards, power forwards, centers, and head coaches.
Obviously, it will not be at one time (laughs) but over the rest of the summer they will drop but here are the top ten all-time criteria I worked up and is pretty straightforward. Longevity and influence on the game will be foundation for everything, as much as our sports culture today is obsessed with “ring culture” rings or championships will of course be part of this not the driving force of this and the last part for this list how effective these people were as coaches. So, let us start this top ten all-time coaches with the honorable mentions which was extremely challenging to decide because they are excellent coaches.
Honorable Mentions
Jerry Sloan
Larry Brown
Doc Rivers
Jack Ramsay
Rudy Tomjanovich
Top 10 Head Coaches of all-time
#10 Red Holzman: The number ten head coach of all-time is the greatest coach in New York Knicks history as well as one of mentors for potentially the greatest coach ever. Red Holzman led the Knicks to two titles in 1970’s because he was a master strategist that influenced following generations of coaches that came after him.
#9 Lenny Wilkens: Lenny Wilkens is an iconic coach and player. Currently third all-time for coaching wins, Wilkens was a gold standard for coaching. His resume is impressive with one title, coach of the year in 1994, coach the all-star game four times certainly validates his place on a top ten coaches list of any sort.
#8 Eric Spoelstra: One of three coaches that are still active on this list is Miami Heat’s Eric Spoelstra who may have more to add to his coaching resume before he is done. Coming from the Pat Riley coaching tree, Spoelstra has been the model of consistency throughout his coaching tenure in south beach with six finals appearances winning two consecutive titles in 2012 and 2013. When it is time to retire Spoelstra will be the best coach in franchise history and the standard for consistency when it comes to coaching the modern game.
#7 Chuck Daly: Chuck Daly is one of the most charismatic coaches we have ever seen in the game of basketball. Before gaining worldwide fame in 1992 for coaching the legendary original Dream Team, he was highly respected in basketball circles for coaching the iconic Bad Boy Detroit Pistons of the mid to late 1980s resulting in back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990 solidify his impact on the game.
#6 K.C. Jones: One of the more overlooked aspects of the famed Celtic lure, K.C. Jones won a majority of his championships as a player and coach for Boston highlighted by the titles in 1984 and the iconic 1986 team. Jones resume certainly has him in the all-time Celtics coach conversation let alone all-time coaches in NBA history.
#5 Steve Kerr: One of the more outspoken and progressive voices and minds in basketball, Steve Kerr certainly has cemented his legacy as a coach in the Bay area. With four titles that created a dynasty along the way with the Warriors of the mid to late 2010s, Kerr and his poetic approach or style of play that he installed to the Warriors has set the standard for the next generation of modern basketball.
#4 Gregg Popovich: The last of active coaches to make this all-time list is of course Gregg Popovich, perhaps the face the Spurs that many of us are accustomed to Popovich is a lifer in San Antonio that finally paid off in 1999 winning the title followed by four more titles in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014 creating the long-lasting era of the Spurs. He may not be coaching for much longer but coaching a young superstar Victor Wembanyama could add to the list of greats he has coached like David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili.
#3 Pat Riley: The most stylish coach ever, Pat Riley is universally revered and respected in the basketball world. Known for coaching the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s and those tough and bad ass Knick teams of the 1990s, Riley shaped all his teams in his image even today now in the front office for the Miami Heat. Five titles, 3-time coach of the year, and 9-time all-star game coach stands alone in why it is a given that Riley is in the top three of all time coaches.
#2 Red Auerbach: The gold standard and considered the greatest coach of all time for many decades, Red Auerbach is certainly a face on the coaching mount Rushmore and Celtic mount Rushmore. With an illustrious 20-year career, Auerbach won 11 division titles (9 in a row), made 11 finals appearances where he went 10 times in row, and winning an impressive 9 championships would be enough to be the number one coach of all time for some people but he is number two but the godfather of basketball coaches.
#1 Phil Jackson: Not a surprise who is the number coach of all time here is the Zen master Phil Jackson. Jackson played on those iconic Knick teams of 1970s coached by the number ten coach of all time Red Holzman, Jackson’s coaching odyssey began being on the bench next to Holzman which would become the base of his iconic coaching system the triangle and his legendary approach to coaching where he is considered the greatest strategist ever or master of the clipboard.
Coaching all-time greats from Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant to Shaquille O’Neal to Scottie Pippen, Jackson always shift his system and approach to match his roster perfectly which led to him winning eleven championships. Those titles that included the iconic 2 three-peat with the Bulls during the 1990s, another three-peat with the Lakers of the early 2000s, and back-to-back in 2009 & 2010 along with a 4-time all-star game coach and coach of the year in 1996 makes it hard to disagree with Jackson being the greatest coach of all time.
