The 10 most overrated NBA coaches of all time, including one big surprise

NBA history is littered with examples of coaches who have gotten a level of praise that might exceed what their career accomplishments actually warrant. We’ll take a closer look at the 10 coaches whose perception feels inflated. All statistics are sourced from Basketball Reference.

Stan Van Gundy and Jeff Van Gundy have remained relevant in NBA discourse due to their work as in-game analysts. Both coaching brothers are appreciated by fans for their media contributions, as Sports Illustrated wrote in 2023. However, Stan Van Gundy’s track record as a head coach is shaky.

Stan Van Gundy was fired by the Miami Heat 21 games into the 2005-2006 season, only for Pat Riley to take over and lead the team to a title. He had a solid five-year run with the Orlando Magic, but his tenures with the Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Pelicans were mediocre at best. He went 183-217 with Detroit and New Orleans.

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There was a time that Williams was viewed as one of the most talented coaches in the NBA. The Chronicle Telegram and Sportskeeda wrote pieces in 2021 about what separated him from his peers. He won NBA Coach of the Year in 2021-2022, and the future seemed bright. However, he’s had some embarrassing moments since.

The Phoenix Suns were heavy favorites at home during the second round in Game 7 of the 2022 NBA playoffs. They were dismantled as soon as the game started by the Dallas Mavericks, with Williams at the helm. As head coach of the Detroit Pistons in 2023-2024, Williams presided over the longest losing streak in NBA history.

As a person, it’s hard to find someone with a better reputation than Saunders. Kevin Garnett gave a heartfelt tribute to Saunders in 2015, as recounted by Business Insider. The Minnesota Star Tribune summarized his impact with the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 2018 piece. Despite being the caretaker of a young franchise, Saunders didn’t accomplish all that much as a coach.

Saunders’ Minnesota teams were proficient at making the postseason, as they qualified in eight of 10 seasons with him at the helm. However, they only advanced past the first round one time. He had more success as head coach of the Detroit Pistons for three seasons, but his teams lost in the Eastern Conference Finals three straight years.

Fratello is another coach who has earned his way into the good graces of NBA fans thanks to his television personality. He’s a great explainer of concepts and trends as the action is taking place. Fratello’s media nickname is “the czar of the telestrator,” as the Akron Beacon Journal delved into in 2022.

However, his perception on television doesn’t quite mesh with the reality of his performance on NBA benches. Fratello was an average coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the mid 1990s, taking his teams to the first round of the playoffs but never farther. He was also the head man of the Dominique Wilkins-led Atlanta Hawks teams in the 1980s, which fell short year after year.

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There might not be a coach in the modern era who takes more of a public beating than Rivers. Granted, the continued criticism might make him seem underrated, but NBA teams are still willing to hire Rivers into high leverage situations. ClutchPoints, RealGM and others have tried to highlight Rivers’ flaws over the years.

Rivers did lead the 2008 Boston Celtics to a championship, and it seems like that ring has given him an infinite number of chances to prove he can recreate the magic. Simply put, he hasn’t been able to do it, as The Ringer points out that Rivers has blown three 3-1 playoff series leads in his career. His first season with the Milwaukee Bucks left a lot to be desired as well.

The Orlando Magic teams of the mid 1990s are looked back on as one of the most fun groups in NBA history. Hill presided over that run, as the head man in Orlando for four seasons from 1993-1997. That was about as good as it got for him, as his other head coaching stints were unremarkable.

Hill would return to coach the Magic for two seasons from 2005-2007, but finished with a combined record that was under .500 in that stint. He also took the head job for the Vancouver Grizzlies for three seasons, and finished with a brutal 31-123 record. The Tampa Bay Times wrote in 1997 that he was never particularly a great coach.

Scott’s resume as a player should be respected, as he was a key member of three Los Angeles Lakers title teams in the 1980s. That luster tends to cover up his mostly disappointing coaching career.

Scott took the New Jersey Nets to two NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003, which he does deserve flowers for. However, in 13 other seasons as an NBA head coach, he only made the playoffs two other times. His last two jobs with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers went pretty badly, as he finished a combined 102-292.

Westhead’s coaching career began about as well as humanly possible. He was the head coach of the 1979-1980 Los Angeles Lakers, who infamously won a title when Magic Johnson played center in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. However, there really wasn’t much else to write home about.

Westhead remained at the helm for another full year in Los Angeles before being fired during the season in 1981-1982. He spent one season as the head coach for the Chicago Bulls in 1982-1983, and two seasons coaching the Denver Nuggets from 1990-1992. His combined record in the Bulls and Nuggets’ years was 72-174. According to USA Today, Magic Johnson requested a trade before Westhead’s firing.

D’Antoni’s name will always be associated with the up-tempo, “seven seconds or less” Phoenix Suns of the 2000s. He is one of the best offensive coaches in NBA history, and deserves credit for implementing a style that ushered in a new wave of basketball. However, his philosophy also led him to fall short when it mattered most.

D’Antoni fawned over offense, but infamously ignored the importance of defense. Former New York Knick Al Harrington told Basketball Network that the team never practiced defense under D’Antoni. Bleacher Report wrote about how subpar the Los Angeles Lakers’ defense was under D’Antoni in 2013. The lack of adjustment or attention to detail on that side of the floor really hurt his legacy.

George Karl has won the sixth most games in NBA history, which he should be commended for. He’s led some memorable teams throughout his coaching career, such as the 1990s Seattle SuperSonics and the 2000s Denver Nuggets. Karl only made one NBA Finals, and his image has taken a beating in recent years.

Karl has found himself in the middle of public spats with several of his former players. Andscape wrote about the tension he has with Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin have to this day, and many players have come out in support of the two former Nuggets stars. Deadspin wrote a piece in 2022 about how bad Karl’s relationship got with DeMarcus Cousins, citing a theme.

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