What NBA Coach Has the Most Championships?

What NBA Coach Has the Most Championships?

We take a look at the coaches with the most NBA championships under their belts.

Phil Jackson

Phil Jackson is a retired American professional basketball coach who has won more NBA championships than any other coach in history. He was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 to 1998 and of the Los Angeles Lakers from 1999 to 2004 and again from 2005 to 2011. Jackson has also been an assistant coach for the USA Men’s Olympic Basketball Team.

Championships

Most NBA fans know that Phil Jackson has the most championships of any coach in NBA history, but they might not know exactly how many he has. As of 2020, Jackson has 11 championship titles. He won six with the Chicago Bulls and five with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Legacy

Phil Jackson is widely considered to be one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time. He has won a record 11 NBA championships, including two three-peats (winning three consecutive championships). He also holds the record for the most championships won by a head coach in any major professional sport.

Jackson’s cervical spine fusion surgery in 1989 forced him to miss the entire 1989–90 season. He returned to coaching the following season, but his back pain continued to plague him. In 1991, Jackson was diagnosed with scar tissue on his heart and underwent surgery to correct the problem.

During his time with the Lakers, Jackson coached superstars Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. The duo helped lead the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. In 2009, he coached the Lakers to their 15th NBA championship, beating the Orlando Magic in five games.

Jackson retired from coaching after the 2010–11 season, but came out of retirement in 2013 to coach the Knicks for one season. He then returned to retirement again.

Gregg Popovich

Gregg Popovich has been the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs since 1996. He is one of the most successful coaches in NBA history, and he has the most championships of any active NBA coach. Popovich has won five NBA championships, and he has also been named the NBA Coach of the Year three times.

Championships

Gregg Popovich has the most championships of any NBA coach, with five. He has coached the San Antonio Spurs to victory in the NBA Finals three times, in 1999, 2003, and 2005. He also led the team to a win in the 2014 NBA Finals.

Legacy

Gregg Popovich is a legendary NBA coach who has won five championships with the San Antonio Spurs. He is considered one of the greatest coaches of all time, and his teams are known for their disciplined, fundamental style of play. Popovich is also known for his candor and dry sense of humor, both of which have endeared him to fans and players alike.

Popovich was born in East Chicago, Indiana in 1949. He played basketball in high school and college, but his true passion was always coaching. After a stint in the Air Force, Popovich began his coaching career as an assistant at the United States Air Force Academy. He then moved on to become head coach at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, where he coached for four years before joining the Spurs as an assistant coach in 1988.

Popovich became head coach of the Spurs in 1996, and he has been with the team ever since. Under his leadership, the Spurs have won five NBA championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014), making them one of the most successful teams of all time. Popovich has also been named NBA Coach of the Year three times (2003, 2012, 2014), and he is widely respected by his peers for his basketball knowledge and ability to develop young talent.

Although Popovich is now in his 70s, there is no indication that he plans to retire anytime soon. With over 1,000 career wins and five championships to his name, Gregg Popovich’s legacy as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history is already firmly cemented.

Pat Riley

Pat Riley has the most NBA championships as a head coach with nine, winning four with the Los Angeles Lakers and five with the Miami Heat. Riley has also been named NBA Coach of the Year three times. He began his coaching career with the Lakers in 1981, and he won his first championship with them in 1982.

Championships

Pat Riley has the most championships of any NBA coach, with a total of nine. He won five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, three with the Miami Heat, and one with the New York Knicks.

Legacy

Riley has been credited with creating the “go-to guy” role, where a player is depended on to make a shot when the game is on the line. Several of Riley’s players have gone on to successful coaching careers in their own right, including Pat Ewing, Stan Van Gundy, Erik Spoelstra and Jeff Van Gundy.

Riley is also well known for his trademarked term “three-peat”, which has been used by several teams to describe their attempt to win three consecutive championships. The Los Angeles Lakers used the term to describe their attempt to win back-to-back-to-back championships from 2000–2002. The Miami Heat used it again during their second championship run from 2012–2014, becoming the first franchise in NBA history to win a championship three times in a row on two separate occasions. Most recently, the Golden State Warriors used the term during their dynasty from 2015–2019, winning three championships in four seasons.