RealGM

#1 Red Auerbach
#2 Phil Jackson

Some candidates for #3 include Larry Brown (greatest short term fixer), Pat Riley (won with a variety of talent groupings), Gregg Popovich (Spurs are the great dynastic team of the 00s . . . but he hasn't won anything without Tim Duncan so it could be Duncan) . . . older coaches might include Alex Hannum (the guy who won with Wilt), Slick Leonard (the greatest ABA coach), Red Holtzman (Reed/Frazier knicks teams), or maybe even John Kundla (the Mikan Lakers . . . but didn't win after Mikan retired).

Open to arguments since I don't have a strong opinion at this time (leaning to one of the first 2 though).

Its time for Larry Brown, amazingly talented coach who knows how to overachieve

Greg Pop.

Larry Brown

Does "Red" encompass all of the celtics' coaches like KC Jones and Tommy Heinsohn? If not, then i think KC has to be mentioned somewhere eventually - especially if this list is going to 20.

I think it's Pops for this one. His reign from post-jordan to now has been amazingly consistent considering that he didn't have the luxury of working with stud players like Riley has. That same consistency puts him ahead of Larry Brow, who while overachives, puts up some stinker seasons. Pops has made the playoffs every season (11 and counting) and has only 2 first round exits. If he keeps this up and manages to win another one with an aging duncan, he'll deserve #2 contention (not the spot. just being discussed).

Larry Brown. Does last long in one place, but will usually win while he is there.

Pat Riley

Larry Brown

My vote goes to Pat Riley. He enjoyed a significant degree of success with 4 different teams: Showtime Lakers; Ewing Knicks; Mourning Heat; and Wade Heat. In addition he was possibly the most versatile of the great coaches in designing a system to fit the talent he had rather than force the talent to play his system.

Billy Cunningham
KC Jones
Pat Riley

Chuck Daly.

TheSheriff wrote:Larry Brown. Does last long in one place, but will usually win while he is there.

To me this is a really big problem with Brown. Think of it this way: If you're GM, and you could have any of these guys, who would you go after? Seems pretty obvious to me that you'd expect guys like Pop to contribute more in the long haul than Brown.

Anyway, I'll go with Pat Riley. He does get overrated by some who don't realize that Showtime was already invented & winning titles before he showed up, but his work in New York and Miami gives him a breadth few can match.

Glad to see 'beast mention some names to consider. I think everyone should read up on Alex Hannum. You can make a case that he made the most impressive coaching move of all time in making Wilt something other than a scorer.

Pat Riley

Pat Riley

I'll join the Larry Brown bandwagon . . . ABA uber alles

I am swayed by Pat Riley coaching a variety of players and using different styles of play. Larry Brown would be a good choice except for his propensity to self-destruct or become bored or whatever he inevitably does after a few years on the job.
So, for me it is: Pat Riley.

I vote for Greg Popovich

Gotta give #3 to Gregg Popovich.

Career: 686-330. 4 NBA championships, NBA Coach of the Year in 2003 and has been at the helm of a dynasty.

Pop runs a great offense and defense, and always seem to have his team prepared for whoever they are facing.

Wes_Wesley wrote:Gotta give #3 to Gregg Popovich.

Career: 686-330. 4 NBA championships, NBA Coach of the Year in 2003 and has been at the helm of a dynasty.

Pop runs a great offense and defense, and always seem to have his team prepared for whoever they are facing.

How can people vote for Popovich, when he himself says Larry Brown is an infinitely better coach, Everything Popovich learned is from Brown.