NBA Career Coaching Wins
Gregg Popovich is the winningest head coach in NBA
regular-season history with 1,390 victories, all with
the San Antonio Spurs.
Popovich passed longtime record holder Don Nelson in
2022. Nelson finished his career with 1,335 wins, while
Lenny Wilkens ranks third with 1,332.
The rankings below count NBA regular-season coaching victories and do
not include playoff wins.
NBA Coaches With the Most Career Wins
| Rank |
Coach |
Wins |
Losses |
Winning % |
| 1 |
Gregg Popovich |
1,390 |
824 |
.628 |
| 2 |
Don Nelson |
1,335 |
1,063 |
.557 |
| 3 |
Lenny Wilkens |
1,332 |
1,155 |
.536 |
| 4 |
Jerry Sloan |
1,221 |
803 |
.603 |
| 5 |
Pat Riley |
1,210 |
694 |
.636 |
| 6 |
Doc Rivers |
1,194 |
866 |
.580 |
| 7 |
George Karl |
1,175 |
824 |
.588 |
| 8 |
Phil Jackson |
1,155 |
485 |
.704 |
| 9 |
Larry Brown |
1,098 |
904 |
.548 |
| 10 |
Rick Adelman |
1,042 |
749 |
.582 |
| 11 |
Rick Carlisle |
1,012 |
923 |
.523 |
| 12 |
Bill Fitch |
944 |
1,106 |
.460 |
| 13 |
Red Auerbach |
938 |
481 |
.661 |
| 14 |
Dick Motta |
935 |
1,017 |
.479 |
| 15 |
Jack Ramsay |
864 |
783 |
.525 |
| 16 |
Cotton Fitzsimmons |
832 |
775 |
.518 |
| 17 |
Erik Spoelstra |
830 |
611 |
.576 |
| 18 |
Gene Shue |
784 |
861 |
.477 |
| 19 |
Nate McMillan |
760 |
668 |
.532 |
| 20 |
John MacLeod |
707 |
657 |
.518 |
| 21 |
Red Holzman |
696 |
603 |
.536 |
| 22 |
Mike D'Antoni |
672 |
527 |
.560 |
| 23 |
Mike Fratello |
667 |
548 |
.549 |
| 24 |
Chuck Daly |
638 |
437 |
.593 |
| 25 |
Doug Moe |
628 |
529 |
.543 |
Most NBA Coaching Wins With One Team
| Rank |
Coach |
Team |
Wins |
| 1 |
Gregg Popovich |
San Antonio Spurs |
1,390 |
| 2 |
Jerry Sloan |
Utah Jazz |
1,127 |
| 3 |
Erik Spoelstra |
Miami Heat |
830 |
| 4 |
Red Auerbach |
Boston Celtics |
795 |
| 5 |
Red Holzman |
New York Knicks |
613 |
| 6 |
Steve Kerr |
Golden State Warriors |
604 |
| 7 |
Al Attles |
Golden State Warriors |
557 |
| 8 |
Phil Jackson |
Chicago Bulls |
545 |
NBA Coaching Records and Facts
-
Gregg Popovich is the NBA's all-time leader with
1,390 regular-season coaching victories.
-
Popovich recorded all 1,390 of his victories with the
San Antonio Spurs, making him the NBA record holder
for both career wins and wins with one franchise.
-
Don Nelson held the NBA career coaching wins record
before Popovich passed him in March 2022. Nelson finished with
1,335 victories.
-
Lenny Wilkens retired with 1,332 wins after coaching
the Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers, Cleveland Cavaliers,
Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks.
-
Jerry Sloan recorded 1,127 of his 1,221 career wins
with the Utah Jazz. He became the first NBA coach to win 1,000 games
with one franchise.
-
Phil Jackson owns the highest regular-season winning
percentage among the coaches near the top of the victories list,
finishing 1,155-485 for a .704 winning percentage.
-
Jackson also owns the NBA record for championships by a head coach
with 11 titles: six with the Chicago Bulls and five
with the Los Angeles Lakers.
-
Red Auerbach won nine championships as head coach of
the Boston Celtics and recorded 795 regular-season victories with the
franchise.
-
Doc Rivers finished the 2025-26 season with
1,194 victories, placing him sixth in NBA history.
-
Rick Carlisle became one of only 11 NBA coaches to
record at least 1,000 regular-season victories and ended 2025-26 with
1,012.
-
Erik Spoelstra reached 830 career victories through
the end of the 2025-26 season, all as head coach of the Miami Heat.
Gregg Popovich Becomes the Winningest NBA Coach
Gregg Popovich took over as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs during
the 1996-97 season and remained the franchise's head coach through
2024-25. During that span, he transformed the Spurs into one of the
most consistent organizations in professional sports.
Popovich passed Don Nelson for the NBA regular-season coaching wins
record in March 2022. He finished his head-coaching career with
1,390 regular-season victories, five NBA
championships and three NBA Coach of the Year awards.
Jerry Sloan's One-Team Milestone
Before Popovich surpassed him, Jerry Sloan was the standard for
long-term coaching success with a single franchise. Sloan won
1,127 regular-season games with the Utah Jazz from
1988 through 2011.
Sloan became the first NBA head coach to reach 1,000 regular-season
victories with one franchise and led Utah to consecutive NBA Finals
appearances in 1997 and 1998.
Regular Season vs. Playoff Coaching Wins
This page ranks coaches by regular-season victories only.
Playoff wins are tracked separately and are not included in the career
totals shown above.
Because playoff success depends on qualifying for the postseason and
advancing through multiple rounds, the order of the all-time playoff
coaching leaderboard differs considerably from the regular-season
victories list.
