All great teams need a great coach. To round out our mega-draft we decided to draft 30 legendary coaches, one for each team. We went in reverse order so Michael Jordan doesn’t get everything he wants.
Pick 1: San Antonio Spurs (John): Phil Jackson
Stats: 11 NBA Championships, 1155 Wins
The greatest coach of all time to everyone except Scottie Pippen.
Pick 2: New York Knicks (Phil): Gregg Popovich
Stats: 5 NBA Championships, 1310 Wins
Reigned over the Spurs dynasty for 20 years but hasn’t done much without Tim Duncan.
Pick 3: New Orleans Pelicans (John): Pat Riley
Stats: 5 NBA Championships, 1210 Wins
The true sex appeal of the showtime Lakers in the ’80s.
Pick 4: Los Angeles Lakers (Phil): Red Auerbach
Stats: 9 NBA Championships, 938 Wins
The Lakers getting the Celtics legend who tormented them 50 years ago is a perfect pick.
Pick 5: Orlando Magic (John): Chuck Daly
Stats: 2 NBA Championships, 638 Wins
Won with the Bad Boy Pistons, he can handle Iverson and Harden.
Pick 6: Oklahoma City Thunder (Phil): Steve Kerr
Stats: 3 NBA Championships, 376 Wins
Leader of the Warriors dynasty walked into a championship team.
Pick 7: Atlanta Hawks (John): George Karl
Stats: 1 Western Conference Championship, 1175 Wins
One of the best coaches to never win a championship.
Pick 8: Portland Trail Blazers (Phil): John Kundla
Stats: 4 NBA Championships (1 BAA Championship), 423 Wins
Won five championships before your parents were born.
Pick 9: Los Angeles Clippers (John): K.C. Jones
Stats: 2 NBA Championships, 553 Wins
Led arguably the greatest team ever with the 1986 Celtics, so he knows how to coach a super team.
Pick 10: Sacramento Kings (Phil): Erik Spoelstra
Stats: 2 NBA Championships, 607 Wins
Arguably the most underrated coach ever thanks to LeBron.
Pick 11: Brooklyn Nets (John): Don Nelson
Stats: 0 NBA Championships, 1335 Wins
Uncle Donny is going to start his own grow house on the sidelines of the Barclays Center.
Pick 12: Toronto Raptors (Phil): Larry Brown
Stats: 1 NBA Championship, 1327 Wins
KG is probably going to go full Sprewell and choke the shit out of Larry Brown, and he’ll be out in two years.
Pick 13: Chicago Bulls (John): Lenny Wilkens
Stats: 1 NBA Championship, 1332 Wins
A better coach than a player, and he’s a Hall of Fame player.
Pick 14: Cleveland Cavaliers (Phil): Billy Cunningham
Stats: 1 NBA Championship, 454 Wins
See Lenny Wilkens.
Pick 15: Dallas Mavericks (John): Red Holzman
Stats: 2 NBA Championships, 696 Wins
Mark Cuban is going to love having a coach who doesn’t know what crypto is.
Pick 16: Golden State Warriors (Phil): Jerry Sloan
Stats: 2 Western Conference Championships, 1221 Wins
With Sloan the Warriors will get as close to a championship as a team can without ever actually winning one.
Pick 17: Memphis Grizzlies (John): Rudy Tomjanovich
Stats: 2 NBA Championships, 527 Wins
Hopefully, Michael Jordan will retire halfway through the season.
Pick 18: Washington Wizards (Phil): Jack Ramsay
Stats: 1 NBA Championship, 864 Wins
Doctor Jack is just what the Wizards need to win their first championship since 1978.
Pick 19: Detroit Pistons (John): Rick Adelman
Stats: 2 Western Conference Championships, 1042 Wins
Rick Adelman will be fine if he remembers to play his best players more than half the game.
Pick 20: Boston Celtics (Phil): Bill Russell
Stats: 2 NBA Championships, 341 Wins
Bill Russell in Boston, what more do you need?
Pick 21: Houston Rockets (John): Doc Rivers
Stats: 1 NBA Championship, 992 Wins
Doc won his championship with a big-three, now he has a big-15.
Pick 22: Philadelphia 76ers (Phil): Nick Nurse
Stats: 1 NBA Championship, 138 Wins
The newest head coach on the list won a championship with Toronto which is all you need to know.
Pick 23: Minnesota Timberwolves (John): Rick Carlisle
Stats: 1 NBA Championship, 836 Wins
Seems like he could actually be the savior the Timberwolves need.
Pick 24: Phoenix Suns (Phil): Mike D’Antoni
Stats: 0 NBA Championships, 672 Wins
D’Antoni back in Phoenix will be a beautiful thing.
Pick 25: Milwaukee Bucks (John): Bill Fitch
Stats: 1 NBA Championship, 944 Wins
Dude just needs to corral Wilt, which shouldn’t be hard in Milwaukee.
Pick 26: Charlotte Hornets (Phil): Tyronn Lue
Stats: 1 NBA Championship, 175 Wins
Ty Lue should just let Bill Russell coach.
Pick 27: Utah Jazz (John): Dick Motta
Stats: 1 NBA Championship, 935 Wins
Magic is probably going to get Dick fired by Thanksgiving.
Pick 28: Denver Nuggets (Phil): Larry Costello
Stats: 1 NBA Championship, 430 Wins
LeBron is going to get Larry fired by Christmas.
Pick 29: Miami Heat (John): Doug Moe
Stats: 0 NBA Championships, 628 Wins
The Heat are going to score 180 points per game.
Pick 30: Indiana Pacers (Phil): Tex Winter
Stats: Assistant Coach with Phil Jackson for 9 NBA Championships, Triangle offense guru
Probably the best assistant coach of all time. Bringing him back to run the triangle with MJ will work again.
Dunking on Oxford 