Apologies if it's already been posted... I'll just list the top 10. Adelman # 8 1. Gregg Popovich, San Antonio: Pop's a strong example of what inheriting the right pieces can do for a career. He had a losing record at Division III Pomona-Pitzer, worked his way into the Spurs organization and has won four rings in the past 10 years. He might shrug off his success in a self-deprecating manner, but I've heard it said that no one understands the pulse of his team quite like Popovich. That goes a long way in this league. 2. Pat Riley, Miami: He coached Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade in the same game only once last regular season, so don't hold the Heat's post-championship collapse against him. He gets every ounce of energy out of his teams, but last year, he felt he failed in that regard. That won't happen again. 3. Phil Jackson, L.A. Lakers: Who knows when his final season might come? Whispers are he's even less inclined to be patient than Bryant, and he really has nothing more to prove. Treasure those two-fingered whistles and nuggets of Zen wisdom, because you never know when they might be gone for good. 4. Jerry Sloan, Utah: The dean of all professional American coaches begins his 20th season with the Jazz, proving that sticking to your guns works. He's not completely inflexible, but his old school approach makes it easy to hone in on that as a character flaw. Andrei Kirilenko obviously views him that way. Deron Williams, who struggled under his tutelage at first, doesn't. Sloan's way works, and ultimately, he'll make you better. 5. Mike D'Antoni, Phoenix: He doesn't just roll the basketballs out there, as some believe. D'Antoni breeds that attractive, fast-break style through active practices and intelligent motivation. He's a player's coach, never getting too high or too low, and you can't argue with the success he has had with the Suns, who have become one of the NBA's elite teams under his watch. 6. Don Nelson, Golden State: The shrewd veteran has won more games than anyone other than Lenny Wilkens, doing it his way, with his system, which he has proven can work anywhere, in any decade (provided you're not trying to run with Patrick Ewing). This will be a big year for him, though, because his Warriors are now saddled with some expectations. 7. Avery Johnson, Dallas: In his first full season, he seemed to be a natural, coaching the Mavericks to their first NBA Finals. Last season, he guided them to the league's top regular-season record, but couldn't solve Golden State, putting a sour note on an otherwise brilliant job bouncing back from heartbreak. He's still learning from mistakes, but his resiliency figures to trickle down to his team and make them even tougher. 8. Rick Adelman, Houston: He won big in Portland and Sacramento by promoting unselfish play, and plans on using the same formula to get the Rockets out of the first round for a change. He has reached the conference finals four times, so history would seem to be on his side. Expect him to post the 10th 50-win season of his coaching career. 9. Mike Brown, Cleveland: For someone who has won 50 games in each of his two seasons and already coached in an NBA Finals, he sure catches a lot of heat. Fact is, he stood up to LeBron James when the young star felt the Cavs should run more often, stuck to his guns and defense-first philosophy and wound up where 28 other teams wanted to be. He's got a bright future. 10. Byron Scott, New Orleans: People forget the Hornets were off to a good start before Peja Stojakovic went down and started an injury parade that would claim Chris Paul, David West and Bobby Jackson for long stretches. He has had to field patchwork squads for two straight years and barely missed the playoffs in spite of the attrition. Scott, a task-master with a personality, got to a pair of NBA Finals with the Nets in his first head coaching gig.
Even before he was the Rockets coach, I'd of put Adelman over Avery & D'antoni. Nellie proved (re-proved, actually) last year that he is a top coach in the league.
based on his achievement, ra should be ranked as high as sloan and d'antoni. they all had many conference final appearances but ring. av has only one apperance, am i right?
JVG is not a coach anymore smart one. SVG should have made the list. Mike Brown? I like his defensive philosophy, but he's not even a better defensive coach than JVG, and his offense is even worse than JVG. Avery Johnson? You gotta be kidding me.
Agree with the top 4 i would've had 5-10 as this though. 5. Don Nelson (unlucky not to be in the top 4) 6. Rick Adelman (Proven winner with a proven system. Just needs to take that next step this year ) 7. Avery Johnson (Amazing record for a rookie coach. I think he was the quickest to 150 wins or something) 8. Mike D'Antoni (people forget how talented his rotation is) 9. Flip Sanuders ( Like Rick Adelman - is a proven winner) 10. Sam Mitchell ( Just for the job he did last year with the raptors and turning them into a top 5 team in the East.) Just my 0.02c
I thought CBS Sports was supposed by a top-notch organization when came to analyzing sports, but this list shows...they don't have damnedest clue about the sport. Sloan and Pop should be #1 or #2 in which ever order....I think those two are about the best when it comes to X's and O's and off/def balance. I know Sloan over Riley might strange to some people, I think he slightly better Riley...but he is 4x champion and did have some great teams with Knicks and Heat. I think Phil Jackson should be lower, if you gave the top 12 coaches the same team....he wouldn't be in top 5. He's a good coach and hall-of-fame, but I don't think he could seriously turn around a struggling franchise or win a title with a team that's not lead by super HOF player. D'Antoni being ranked over Adelman, Karl, and Nelson is very questionable, would even add Avery and Skiles into the mix (since he did turn the Mavs into very complete team and got them to finals). Adelman, Karl, and Nelson are probably two of the best coaches in NBA history who haven't won NBA title. All producing winners over 3 decades of basketball. D'Antoni has a great style, but would it work another team with different personnel (especially if the team's best player is low-post presence or is traditional center)...imagine putting Shaq or Wilt in the Suns system. I know you could use the Showtime Lakers as example, but Kareem was in the twilight of his career and the younger players were taking up the scoring load. But would really, want to keep Shaq to 15 to 19 ppg in his prime, when he could dominate the paint with 28 to 35 ppg. It don't know how that would work at out. I think the Suns would be slightly better with one of the coaches. Even think that B.Scott and Saunders could be a little higher than they are. To Scott's credit, he is coaching an Eastern Conference team (2 years removed) in the West (and have been on the cusp of the playoffs) even with injuries...if left in the East...they would be one of the better teams in Conference, possibly even top 3. Considering they didn't make the playoffs, the HOrnets could probably give Cavs a series and believably beat them. Saunders is questionable, I think he's above average and does few things to get his team to win...Critics will say he has had all the talent in the world in Detroit, but they can't get out of the East or they won't be as committed to defense. I really don't think it's true, I think he has had some let downs, but I think he has done things to make Detroit better than were with Larry Brown...He has actually given them an offensive identity and made them more well-rounded as team, 64 wins and 53 last year, those are pretty good for what people thought would be team that would go down hill after two Finals appearances. Another thing to consider is they've had the misfortune of coming up against teams with few great superstars...that one player they can't quite slow down.
Riley doesn't suck...he's good coach and I believe was significant part in Lakers 4 out of 5 titles...I thought he did give them a certain edge in certain aspects of the game...balance their attack well.
Honestly. If you want X's and O's coaches, watch college BB. The guys at the top of this list made their name by falling into a great situation and doing just enough not to screw it up. Rudy T by that token was a "great" NBA coach, but I wouldn't have wanted him tutoring a five-year old in math, science, or anything closely requiring logic.
