List of Cleveland Cavaliers head coaches
The Cleveland Cavaliers are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers play in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team joined the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team and won their first Eastern Conference championship in 2007.[1] The Cavaliers have played their home games at the Quicken Loans Arena, formerly known as Gund Arena, since 1994.[2] The Cavaliers are owned by Dan Gilbert, with Koby Altman as their general manager.[3] American R&B-pop singer Usher Raymond is a minority owner.[4]
There have been 19 head coaches for the Cavaliers franchise. The franchise's first head coach was Bill Fitch, who coached for nine seasons. Fitch is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (738);[5] Lenny Wilkens is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season game wins (316); Mike Brown is the franchise's all-time leader for the most playoff games coached (71), the most playoff-game wins (42), and the highest regular-season winning percentage (.620).[6] Chuck Daly and Wilkens are the only Cavaliers coaches to have been elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach.[6][7] Fitch and Daly were also named one of the top 10 coaches in NBA history.[8] Fitch and Brown are the only Cavaliers coaches to have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award.[9] Don Delaney spent his entire NBA coaching careers with the Cavaliers.[10]
Key
GC | Games coached |
W | Wins |
L | Losses |
Win% | Winning percentage |
# | Number of coaches[a] |
* | Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Cavaliers |
---|---|
Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach |
Coaches
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2017–18 season.
# | Name | Term[b] | GC | W | L | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | Achievements | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
1 | Bill Fitch | 1970–1979 | 738 | 304 | 434 | .412 | 18 | 7 | 11 | .389 | 1975–76 NBA Coach of the Year[9] One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[8] |
[5] |
2 | Stan Albeck | 1979–1980 | 82 | 37 | 45 | .451 | — | — | — | — | [14] | |
3 | Bill Musselman | 1980–1981 | 71 | 25 | 46 | .352 | — | — | — | — | [15] | |
4 | Don Delaney* | 1981 | 26 | 7 | 19 | .269 | — | — | — | — | [10] | |
5 | Bob Kloppenburg | 1981 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | — | — | — | — | [16] | |
6 | Chuck Daly |
1981–1982 | 41 | 9 | 32 | .220 | — | — | — | — | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[8] | [7] |
— | Bill Musselman | 1982 | 15 | 4 | 11 | .267 | — | — | — | — | [15] | |
7 | Tom Nissalke | 1982–1984 | 164 | 51 | 113 | .311 | — | — | — | — | [17] | |
8 | George Karl | 1984–1986 | 149 | 61 | 88 | .409 | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | [18] | |
9 | Gene Littles | 1986 | 15 | 4 | 11 | .267 | — | — | — | — | [19] | |
10 | Lenny Wilkens |
1986–1993 | 574 | 316 | 258 | .551 | 41 | 18 | 23 | .439 | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[8] | [6] |
11 | Mike Fratello | 1993–1999 | 460 | 248 | 212 | .539 | 14 | 2 | 12 | .143 | [20] | |
12 | Randy Wittman | 1999–2001 | 164 | 62 | 102 | .378 | — | — | — | — | [21] | |
13 | John Lucas | 2001–2003 | 124 | 37 | 87 | .298 | — | — | — | — | [22] | |
14 | Keith Smart | 2003 | 40 | 9 | 31 | .225 | — | — | — | — | [23] | |
15 | Paul Silas | 2003–2005 | 146 | 69 | 77 | .473 | — | — | — | — | [24] | |
16 | Brendan Malone | 2005 | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | — | — | — | — | [25] | |
17 | Mike Brown | 2005–2010 | 410 | 272 | 138 | .663 | 71 | 42 | 29 | .592 | Eastern Conference Championship (2007)[1] 2008–09 NBA Coach of the Year[9] |
[26] |
18 | Byron Scott | 2010–2013 | 230 | 64 | 166 | .278 | — | — | — | — | [27] | |
— | Mike Brown | 2013–2014 | 82 | 33 | 49 | .402 | — | — | — | — | [26] | |
19 | David Blatt | 2014–2016 | 113 | 83 | 40 | .675 | 20 | 14 | 6 | .700 | Eastern Conference Championship (2015) | |
20 | Tyronn Lue | 2016–present | 205 | 128 | 77 | .624 | 56 | 40 | 16 | .714 | NBA championships (2016) |
- Two-time head coach Mike Brown who led the Cavaliers from 2005 to 2010, and again during the 2013–14 season. During his first stint, he led the Cavs to their first NBA Finals appearance in 2007.
- Byron Scott was the head coach of the Cavaliers from 2010 to 2013. During the 2010–2011 season, the Cavs lost 26 games in a row - tied for the longest losing streak in the four major professional sports.
- Current head coach Tyronn Lue
Notes
References
- General
- "Year-By-Year Finish and Coaching Records". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
- "Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Register". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
- Specific
- 1 2 "2006-07 Cleveland Cavaliers Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Gund Arena to be renamed Quicken Loans Arena". ESPN.com. August 2, 2005. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
- ↑ "Executive Bios and Directory". NBA.com. Cleveland Cavaliers. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
- ↑ Davis, Carolyn E. (February 25, 2005). "Usher About To Become Part-Owner Of Cleveland Cavaliers". MTV. Retrieved November 30, 2008.
- 1 2 "Bill Fitch Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- 1 2 3 "Lenny Wilkens Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- 1 2 "Chuck Daly Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 "Top 10 Coaches in NBA History". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
- 1 2 3 "Coach of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
- 1 2 "Don Delaney Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Daly, "Chuck" (Charles J.)". hickoksports.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2002. Retrieved December 2, 2008.
- ↑ "Chuck Daly Biography". Hit! Run! Score!, Inc. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. Retrieved December 2, 2008.
- ↑ Bill Nichols. "Activist Stepien Axes Daly, March 27, 1982". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved December 2, 2008.
- ↑ "Stan Albeck Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- 1 2 "Bill Musselman Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Bob Kloppenburg Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Tom Nissalke Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "George Karl Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Gene Littles Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Mike Fratello Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Randy Wittman Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "John Lucas Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Keith Smart Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Paul Silas Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "Brendan Malone Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- 1 2 "Mike Brown Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
- ↑ "Byron Scott Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 18, 2012.