List of New York Knicks head coaches
The New York Knickerbockers are an American professional basketball team based in New York City. They are a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They play their home games at Madison Square Garden. The franchise's official name "Knickerbockers" came from the style of pants Dutch settlers wore when they moved to America.[1] Having joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the predecessor of the NBA, in 1946, the Knicks remain as one of the oldest teams in the NBA.[2] During Red Holzman's tenure, the franchise won its only two NBA championships, the 1970 NBA Finals and the 1973 NBA Finals.
There have been 26 head coaches for the New York Knicks franchise. Holzman was the franchise's first Coach of the Year winner and is the team's all-time leader in regular season games coached, regular season games won, playoff games coached, and playoff games won.[3] Holzman was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986 as a coach.[3] Besides Holzman, Rick Pitino, Don Nelson, Pat Riley, Lenny Wilkens, and Larry Brown have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as coaches. Four coaches have been named to the list of the top 10 coaches in NBA history.[4] Neil Cohalan, Joe Lapchick, Vince Boryla, Carl Braun, Eddie Donovan and Herb Williams have spent their entire coaching careers with the Knicks.[5][6][7][8][9][10] Boryla, Braun, Harry Gallatin, Dick McGuire, Willis Reed and Williams formerly played for the Knicks.[11][12][13][14][15][16]
Key[]
GC | Games coached |
W | Wins |
L | Losses |
Win% | Winning percentage |
# | Number of coaches[a] |
* | Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Knicks |
Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach |
Coaches[]
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2020–21 season.
# | Name | Term[b] | GC | W | L | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | Achievements | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
1 | Neil Cohalan* | 1946–1947 | 60 | 33 | 27 | .550 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | [5] | |
2 | Joe Lapchick* | 1947–1956 | 573 | 326 | 247 | .569 | 60 | 30 | 30 | .500 | [6] | |
3 | Vince Boryla* | 1956–1958 | 165 | 80 | 85 | .485 | — | — | — | — | [7] | |
4 | Andrew Levane | 1958–1959 | 99 | 48 | 51 | .485 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | [17] | |
5 | Carl Braun* | 1959–1961 (as player-coach) | 127 | 40 | 87 | .315 | — | — | — | — | [8] | |
6 | Eddie Donovan* | 1961–1965 | 278 | 84 | 194 | .302 | — | — | — | — | [9] | |
7 | Harry Gallatin | 1965 | 63 | 25 | 38 | .397 | — | — | — | — | [18] | |
8 | Dick McGuire | 1965–1967 | 177 | 75 | 102 | .424 | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | [19] | |
9 | Red Holzman | 1967–1977 | 783 | 466 | 317 | .595 | 95 | 54 | 41 | .568 | 1969–70 NBA Coach of the Year 2 Championships (1970, 1973) One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[4] |
[3] |
10 | Willis Reed | 1977–1978 | 96 | 49 | 47 | .510 | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | [20] | |
— | Red Holzman | 1978–1982 | 314 | 147 | 167 | .468 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[4] | [3] |
11 | Hubie Brown | 1982–1986 | 344 | 138 | 190 | .421 | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | [21] | |
12 | Bob Hill | 1986–1987 | 66 | 20 | 46 | .303 | — | — | — | — | [22] | |
13 | Rick Pitino | 1987–1989 | 164 | 90 | 74 | .549 | 13 | 6 | 7 | .462 | [23] | |
14 | Stu Jackson | 1989–1990 | 97 | 52 | 45 | .536 | 10 | 4 | 6 | .400 | [24] | |
15 | John MacLeod | 1990–1991 | 67 | 32 | 35 | .478 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | [25] | |
16 | Pat Riley | 1991–1995 | 328 | 223 | 105 | .680 | 63 | 35 | 28 | .556 | 1992–93 NBA Coach of the Year One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[4] |
[26] |
17 | Don Nelson | 1995–1996 | 59 | 34 | 25 | .576 | — | — | — | — | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[4] | [27] |
18 | Jeff Van Gundy | 1996–2001 | 420 | 248 | 172 | .590 | 69 | 37 | 32 | .536 | [28] | |
19 | Don Chaney | 2001–2004 | 184 | 72 | 112 | .391 | — | — | — | — | [29] | |
20 | Herb Williams* | 2004 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | [10] | |
21 | Lenny Wilkens | 2004–2005 | 81 | 40 | 41 | .494 | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[4] | [30] |
— | Herb Williams* | 2005 | 43 | 16 | 27 | .372 | — | — | — | — | [10] | |
22 | Larry Brown | 2005–2006 | 82 | 23 | 59 | .280 | — | — | — | — | [31] | |
23 | Isiah Thomas | 2006–2008 | 164 | 56 | 108 | .341 | — | — | — | — | [32] | |
24 | Mike D'Antoni | 2008–2012 | 288 | 121 | 167 | .420 | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | [33] | |
25 | Mike Woodson | 2012–2014 | 188 | 109 | 79 | .580 | 17 | 7 | 10 | .412 | [34] | |
26 | Derek Fisher* | 2014–2016 | 136 | 40 | 96 | .294 | — | — | — | — | [35] | |
27 | Kurt Rambis | 2016 | 28 | 9 | 19 | .321 | — | — | — | — | [36] | |
28 | Jeff Hornacek | 2016–2018 | 164 | 60 | 104 | .366 | — | — | — | — | [37] | |
29 | David Fizdale | 2018–2019 | 104 | 21 | 83 | .202 | — | — | — | — | [38] | |
30 | Mike Miller* | 2019–2020 | 44 | 17 | 27 | .386 | — | — | — | — | [39] | |
31 | Tom Thibodeau | 2020–present | 72 | 41 | 31 | .569 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | 2020–21 NBA Coach of the Year | [40] |
Red Holzman was the 1969–70 NBA Coach of the Year, and won 2 championships (1970, 1973).
Jeff Hornacek was the Knicks head coach from 2016 to 2018.
David Fizdale was the Knicks head coach from 2018 to 2019
Notes[]
- a A running total of the number of coaches of the Knicks. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
- b Each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season.
References[]
- General
- "New York Knicks Coach Register". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
- Specific
- ^ "Why Knickerbockers?". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
- ^ "History of the New York Knicks". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Red Holzman Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f "Top 10 Coaches in NBA History". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
- ^ a b "Neil Cohalan Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
- ^ a b "Joe Lapchick Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
- ^ a b "Vince Boryla Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
- ^ a b "Carl Braun Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
- ^ a b "Eddie Donovan Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
- ^ a b c "Herb Williams Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Vince Boryla Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
- ^ "Carl Braun Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
- ^ "Harry Gallatin Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
- ^ "Dick McGuire Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
- ^ "Willis Reed Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
- ^ "Herb Williams Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
- ^ "Andrew Levane Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
- ^ "Harry Gallatin Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Dick McGuire Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Willis Reed Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Hubie Brown Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Bob Hill Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Rick Pitino Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Stu Jackson Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "John MacLeod Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Pat Riley Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Don Nelson Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Jeff Van Gundy Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Don Chaney Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Lenny Wilkens Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Larry Brown Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Isiah Thomas Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
- ^ "Mike D'Antoni Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- ^ "Mike Woodson Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- ^ "Derek Fisher Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
- ^ "Kurt Rambis Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
- ^ "Jeff Hornacek Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ "David Fizdale Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ "Mike Miller Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ "Tom Thibodeau Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- Lists of National Basketball Association head coaches by team
- New York Knicks head coaches
- New York Knicks lists