Subscribe
Follow Us
Winning an NBA championship is arguably the most difficult task to accomplish for any franchise. It not only requires talent, but also chemistry, the right system, and leadership implemented by the coach. Because of this, there is no doubt that pairing a superstar with a talented coach can bring in a lot of success to any franchise.
Throughout the league history, we’ve seen various remarkable player and coach combinations that have taken their franchises to a whole new level like Red Auerbach and Bill Russell, as their partnership played a huge part in the Boston Celtics’ dominant championship dynasty back in the days.
For this piece, let’s take a look at the top 10 greatest Player-Coach duos in the past decade.
Honorable Mention
Some player-coach duos that barely made the list are the former Boston Celtics duo of Brad Stevens and Isaiah Thomas, and the Utah Jazz’ Quin Snyder and Donovan Mitchell.
10. Chris Paul and Doc Rivers
The Los Angeles Clippers were one of the bottom feeders before Chris Paul arrived. With CP3 around, the franchise rose to playoff relevancy once again as he played alongside rising stars at that time Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Of course, as history unfolded, this team-up would eventually anoint the Clippers as Lob City.
The entry of champion coach Doc Rivers in 2013 certainly made the Clippers a more formidable team in the Western conference. With Doc Rivers’ playoff experience and CP3’s top notch playmaking, the franchise registered at least 50 wins for consecutive seasons and reached the postseason during the years when CP3 and Rivers worked together, including two Western Conference Semifinals appearances.
Unfortunately, this player-coach combo just was never good enough to win a NBA championship or let alone reach the Conference Finals. It is worth noting the duo came close in 2015, when they held a 3-1 lead over the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Semifinals. But with Harden’s hot shooting, the Rockets eventually came back to eliminate the Clippers.
After four years of not making it deeper than the Western Conference Semifinals, the partnership between Paul and Rivers came to an end. In fact, CP3 and Rivers went through a messy break-up as the former left La la land for Houston to join James Harden. Thus, it also ended the Lob City era.
The coach-player duo certainly tuned the Clippers into a legitimate championship contender and they were a great regular season team. In fact, they are the pioneers of arguably the most successful campaign in franchise history. Because of this, they were indeed one of the most remarkable pairings in the past decade which places them 10th in this list.
9. Marc Gasol and Lionel Hollins
In the earlier stages of the past decade, the Memphis Grizzlies weren’t really a star-studded lineup. However, that didn’t stop them from giving top teams in the league tough nights. The duo of Marc Gasol and Lionel Hollins certainly made the Grizzlies a hard-fighting underdog team that wasn’t afraid to face the Western Conference giants.
Hollins implemented a system that turned the Grizzlies into a fast-paced team that loves to run, to hustle, and shoot from beyond the arc. Furthermore, it was a system that was founded on a “never back down mentality” that gave birth to the Grit-and-Grind era. His system was spearheaded by defensive specialist Marc Gasol, who anchored the paint. During the Grit-and-Grind era, the Spanish Center reached all-star form, earning all-star distinctions and was part of the All-Defensive Second Team. But more importantly, he was even crowned as the Defensive Player of the Year.
The partnership of Gasol and Hollins was a force to be reckoned with come postseason. They were a dark horse team that successfully denied championship contenders such as the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Los Angeles Clippers in the postseason. In fact, they even reached the Western Conference Finals in 2013, which was the franchise’s most successful run in history.
Although Hollins and Gasol never stirred the team to a championship in their years together, there is no doubt that this team overachieved thanks to Hollins’ system and Gasol’s contributions to the team. Because of this, they deserve to be placed ninth in this list.
8. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mike Budenholzer
The Milwaukee Bucks are certainly a scary team with the rise of Giannis Antetokounmpo to the MVP realm. However, a lot of the credit for the Bucks’ recent success should also go to Mike Budenholzer. With Budenholzer around, the Bucks became the number one Eastern Conference team in the regular season. For the past two years, the Bucks registered 60+ wins while entering the postseason as the number one seed in the east. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the Greek Freak won all of his two MVP awards under Budenholzer’s watch.
The only knock on this duo is that Giannis and Budenholzer have been unsuccessful in the postseason. In their two years together, the Bucks have so far failed to win a championship or let alone make the NBA Finals. Although the team came close in 2019 when they took a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Toronto, unfortunately the Giannis and Budenholzer duo just couldn’t contain Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors in the succeeding games. And just last season, the player-coach duo suffered an early playoff exit at the hands of fifth seed and eventual NBA Finalist the Miami Heat led by Jimmy Butler.
Fortunately, this duo remains intact after the Greek Freak signed a monster five year, $228 million extension with the team. As a result, Giannis and Budenholzer will surely continue to torment opposing teams, especially in the east. Furthermore, it also opens the door for this player-coach combo to possibly win a championship in the next five years.
With the coaching brilliance of Budenholzer and the MVP performance of Giannis, there is no doubt that they have turned the Bucks into an automatic championship contender in the past decade. But without a championship together just yet, this duo places at the eight spot for now.
7. Kevin Durant and Scott Brooks
Kevin Durant is arguably the best player today and a huge part of his development was Coach Scott Brooks. Coaching KD ever since his rookie year, the 6’10 forward eventually blossomed from a pure scorer into a superstar under Brooks’ watch. Due to Brooks accomplishment of turning the Thunder into a feared team in the West, he was also declared the Coach of the Year in 2010.
With Brooks’ coaching and Durant’s presence, the Thunder has been a consistent threat in the Western Conference, as they secured the top five seeds from 2010 to 2014 and even taking the number one seed at the end of the 2013-2014 regular season. Furthermore, in their years together, KD and Brooks led the team to four Western Conference Finals appearances while knocking out legitimate contenders such as the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, and San Antonio Spurs. But more importantly, this duo was even able to stir the team to a NBA Finals appearance in 2012. Unfortunately, they had to run into the Big Three of the Miami Heat led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh who were out for redemption.
Brooks did a great job coaching this Thunder team, as he managed to make use not only of KD’s talent but also implementing a system that allowed KD to play alongside future MVPs in Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Although this duo wasn’t able to bring a championship to the Thunder, there is no question that this era was arguably the most successful run in Thunder history.
6. Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich
The San Antonio Spurs were a legitimate contender for quite a long time in the NBA mainly because of the partnership between Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich. Ever since Duncan’s rookie year, Popovich has been coaching him from the sidelines and this has certainly turned out well for The Big Fundamental. Duncan went on of course to have a Hall-of-Fame career that saw him nab Rookie of the Year, 15 All-Star distinctions, MVP, Finals MVP, and five NBA championships. On the other hand, Popovich won three Coach of the Year trophies and also won five NBA championships with Duncan.
Their partnership started in 1997, however they managed to make an impact in the earlier parts of the past decade. The duo of Popovich and Duncan served as the foundation of the successful culture of the Spurs team that went on to make two straight NBA Finals trips in 2013 and 2014. Of course, they succeeded in 2014 when they avenged their 2013 loss against the Miami Heat and brought home the franchise’s last NBA championship so far.
Although Duncan wasn’t declared the Finals MVP, as it went to Kawhi Leonard, the duo of Popovich and Duncan was still instrumental in denying the Heat from achieving a three-peat. It was definitely a great moment for the duo that was the icing on the cake for their legendary careers.
5. Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson
If there is another coach-player duo that became legendary, it would be the late Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson. To start the past decade, Bryant and Jackson stirred the Los Angeles Lakers to a second straight NBA championship and their fifth overall together. Amidst the Shaquille O’Neal drama and chemistry issues within the team, the duo went through a lot of off-court obstacles in the earlier years. But nevertheless, the duo successfully set aside their differences and won championships.
In 2010, Bryant and Jackson were on a mission to expand their title collection after winning it all in 2009 when they dispatched Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. Firstly, they took care of business during the regular season as they finished as the top seed in the Western Conference, while putting up a 57-25 win-loss record. Furthermore, this duo was formidable enough to eliminate their Western Conference rivals such as the likes of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, and Phoenix Suns. Bryant had another MVP-like season as he averaged 27.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per outing.
But more importantly, they succeeded in avenging their previous 2008 Finals loss against old tormentor the Boston Celtics. Like in 2008, the Celtics were led by Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. Although it was not easy by any means, as the series required seven grueling games to declare a champion, The Black Mamba and The Zen Master’s partnership was the winning factor that gave the Lakers its 16th franchise championship. It wouldn’t be until the next decade, when the Lakers would taste another title. Furthermore, it was the title that capped off the careers of this memorable duo.
4. LeBron James and Erik Spoelstra
If there is a coach-player duo that proved everyone that they can win championships, it would be LeBron James and Coach Erik Spoelstra. This pairing is the second winningest coach-player partnership during the past decade. LeBron James was at his peak years as he won two straight MVP trophies, while also getting support from fellow superstar teammates such as Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Although the spotlight was mainly focused on the Big Three, people often forget Spoelstra’s herculean job of managing the talent in this super team. It was definitely not made easier, when he Heat as the primary villain of the league.
However, the biggest obstacle this duo faced was when they had to absorb a Finals upset against Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. Despite being penciled to win it all in 2011 after forming the Big Three, Nowitzki’s hot shooting and James’ offensive struggles were just too much to overcome for the Heat.
Fortunately, The King and Coach Spo led the team to bounce back in dominant fashion. With Spo successfully giving the Big Three its roles while integrating key veteran players, the Heat were a force to be reckoned with as he helped the team win two straight NBA championships. He also helped the team finish with a 66-16 win-loss card in the 2012-2013 season. Aside from this, the Heat were also able to get past their rivals in the Oklahoma City Thunder and a dramatic series win against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals.
As history unfolded, James and Spo made the Heat a championship caliber team, as they even went on a fourth straight Finals trip in 2014. Although the team failed to capture that team that year against the Spurs which led to the end of the Big Three era, there is no question that James and Spo made a huge mark in the past decade that gave the franchise its most successful run in franchise history. As a result, they deserve to be in the Top five of this list.
3. Dirk Nowitzki and Rick Carlisle
The Dallas Mavericks were by no means a super team, but boy did they shock everyone in 2011. In this year, Nowitzki registered another all-star season that saw him average 23.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per outing. Led by Dirk Nowitzki’s hot hand and Rick Carlisle’s coaching, the Mavericks finished third in the Western Conference.
But more importantly, the Mavs definitely overachieved come the postseason. The duo of Nowitzki and Carlisle got past their biggest rivals in the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder who had Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant, respectively. Furthermore, they also succeeded in taking down the heavily favored Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
Despite coming into the Finals as the underdogs, Nowitzki would log in one of this finest postseason performances in his career. In the NBA Finals, he averaged 26.0 points and 9.7 rebounds while shooting an incredible 97.8% from the charity stripe. The German star was also unguardable, especially when shooting his signature one legged jumper. In the end, 7’0 big man was declared the Finals MVP.
On the other hand, Carlisle did a tremendous coaching job on containing LeBron James of the Heat by making the team implement a zone defense. Of course, James struggled mightily in that series as he only averaged 17.8 points per outing which was arguably the worst playoff performance for The King in his career.
As a result, the partnership of Carlisle and Dirk certainly played a key role in helping the Mavs pull off the impossible feat of taking down the talented Big Three. Because of this, they are no doubt a top three coach-player combo during the past decade.
2. Kawhi Leonard and Nick Nurse
Aside from the Dallas Mavericks, another special underdog team during the past decade were the Toronto Raptors. A huge part of the Raptors’ success in 2019 was the coach-player duo of star forward Kawhi Leonard and Coach Nick Nurse.
The Raptors were definitely a contender during that time. However, people never expected that they would win it all. Firstly, the Raptors didn’t really have that much star power to match the likes of the Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, or the Milwaukee Bucks. Furthermore, Kawhi was never shy about letting management know that he never intended to take his talents to Toronto after demanding a trade with his former team, the San Antonio Spurs.
But despite the Kawhi drama and lack of star power, Nick Nurse was able to work with the players he had and the late additions of Marc Gasol and Jeremy Lin were certainly welcomed. With Nurse’s system, the team flourished on both ends of the floor. Nurse plotted plays that brought out the best in players like Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet. Aside from this, Leonard was just as lethal as ever.
The Raptors successfully took down the Orlando Magic in the first round, then the Philadelphia 76ers including a dramatic game winning shot by Kawhi Leonard at the buzzer in Game 7 to help the Raptors advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Behind Nick Nurse’ coaching schemes and Leonard’s MVP dominance, Toronto was also able to get past the Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee Bucks despite losing the first two games.
The duo’s real test came in the NBA Finals, when they were pitted against the two time defending champions, the Golden State Warriors. With Warriors stars Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson suffering major injuries during the series, Nurse and Leonard placed premium on defense that limited the Warriors’ signature hot shooting from rainbow country. Thus, the Raptors succeeded in another underdog story that not only dethroned the heavily favored Warriors but also gave its franchise the first NBA title. Kawhi Leonard was named the Finals MVP, while Nick Nurse became one of the candidates to win Coach of the Year, which he would eventually win the following year.
1. Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr
With three championships won during the past decade, Curry and Kerr are arguably the most successful coach-player duo in the past decade. Because of this, they take the top spot of this list.
Curry and Kerr’s partnership have been the foundation of the Warriors’ success. Kerr has been working behind the scenes, implementing a motion offense that has brought out the best in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and even Kevin Durant. Furthermore, his philosophy hinged on “strength in numbers” and a derived triangle system has made this Warriors unit arguably the most feared team in the league. On the other hand, Curry’s lethal shooting combined with elite ball handling skills make him a player that is almost impossible to guard one on one.
Throughout the years, this coach-player duo has managed to turn the Warriors from a dark horse into a legitimate championship contender ever since 2015. Despite being part of the tough Western Conference landscape, the Warriors have had no problem getting past the likes of the Houston Rockets who are led by James Harden, the San Antonio Spurs, and even the Oklahoma City Thunder who were spearheaded by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
In their three championship conquests, they have repeatedly dispatched LeBron James and the Cavaliers, as Curry and Kerr led the Warriors in dominating this championship rivalry. As a result, Kerr was also declared the Coach of the Year in 2016 for his coaching success. While Curry was never declared the Finals MVP in the Warriors’ championships, everyone knows the hot shooting Warriors guard has always been a prime candidate to win it, as his leadership and out-of-this world brilliance is simply unmatched.
Although the Warriors didn’t make the playoffs last year and with a torn achilles that sidelined Klay Thompson for this season, you can count on Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr to keep the Golden State Warriors competitive this year. In fact, they might still be able to pull off some surprises in the near future as long as this coach-player duo remains intact.
