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Power ranking NBA head coaches: 2015-16 season

By John Buhler

Oct 23, 2015; Manchester, NH, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens gestures from the sidelines during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Verizon Wireless Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 23, 2015; Manchester, NH, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens gestures from the sidelines during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Verizon Wireless Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 7, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 7, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs

On Basketball Mount Rushmore, Gregg Popovich joins Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach without question as three of the four greatest NBA head coaches of all-time. Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs have been the model franchise of the NBA since the late 1990’s.

Popovich has won 1,032 career regular season games, five NBA Championships, six Western Conference Championships, and has won 50 games in a season 17 times. He won 50 games during the strike-shortened 2011-12 NBA Season, going 50-16.

While the NBA has many outstanding basketball coaches, there is only one Gregg Popovich. His teams, without fail, win 50 games every year, playing an unselfish brand of basketball that is often imitated by never fully mastered.

Besides his basketball prowess as a head coach, his sideline interviews are one of a kind. Winning five NBA Championships allows Popovich to answer questions he doesn’t like with one-word responses. The NBA world finds his sideline antics hysterical.

It’s one thing to stay relevant as a competitive team for over a decade. It’s another to contend for an NBA Championship every year since 1997-98, Tim Duncan’s rookie season. There isn’t a better NBA head coach in the league today than Gregg Popovich and it isn’t even close.

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