NBA Coach Network 2000 - 2025
Owen, Steen, Nik, Micah, TeAnna (in order of appearance)
Jackson v Pop
These are the coaching trees of two of the most prolific head coaches of the 21st century: Phil Jackson and Greg Popovich. In that timeframe, Jackson coached 10 years, and Popovich coached 25 years, each winning four championships.
With such long tenures, one might expect each of these legendary coaches’ networks to be the most expansive. However, their degrees are actually relatively small, compared to other coaches from the same era. This could be because they performed so well that there was no pressure on the teams’ front offices to make coaching changes. It could also be looked at in reverse: perhaps it was the consistency from year to year afforded by patient front offices that allowed these teams to bloom.
Upon diving into the details of each legendary coach’s tree, multiple formulas for greatness begin to emerge. One one side is Phil Jackson. The Zen Master. The brain behind the ’90s Bulls and 2000s Lakers. His presence in NBA history is monumental and undeniable. But what about his coaching tree? How have his disciples followed in his footsteps? In a word, unsuccessfully.
Jackson’s time as a head coach extends back into the ’90s, beyond the scope of this project, but the result remains almost the same. The assistant coaches under Phil Jackson have largely remained just that throughout their coaching careers: assistants. Many of his pupils have enjoyed long, successful assistant coaching careers, such as Brian Shaw, Jim Cleamons, and Kurt Rambis. But when each of those three eventually landed head coaching jobs, they barely managed a couple years at that level (with many, many losses) before returning to assistant positions. Perhaps this was by design. Phil Jackson assembled groups of people who fit his needs perfectly—well oiled machines where every member of the staff could play their role. But when thrust into bigger roles, none of them had what it takes to stand at the head of the ship. This cohesion, consistency, and lack of clashing egos within the coaching staff was a crucial part of Jackson’s recipe for winning.
On the other side is Greg Popovich. The backbone of the Spurs’ 21st century dominance. He shared the same success as Jackson, but his network looks completely different. Since Popovich coached for over double the time Jackson did within this project’s timeframe, it makes sense that he would have more connections. But what can’t be explained by simple longevity is the success of Popovich’s disciples. Alvin Gentry and Jacque Vaughn have sustained long, moderately successful head coaching careers, and Ime Udoka and Will Hardy are young, up-and-coming head coaches with seemingly bright futures. Mike Brown and Monty Williams have led teams to the conference finals, while Kerr and Budenholzer have championships to their name.
Gephi’s modularity-based community detection shows that some of Popovich’s former assistants have gone on to create their own communities, developing solid coaching trees of their own. Steve Kerr, Mike Brown, Jacque Vaughn, and Mike Budenholzer’s networks are pictured below (since these photos are meant to only show each coach’s group of assistants, other head coaches they worked under have been blacked out). These communities show a kind of “second degree” of Greg Popovich’s coaching tree.
Whether he intentionally sought out coaches with the potential to succeed in head coaching roles or taught them what they need to know in order to do so once they were in the building, Popovich’s network demonstrates an alternative to Jackson’s method. Where Jackson filled his cabinet with pieces to work in his system seamlessly, many of Popovich’s assistants could be a system in their own right. There’s no “correct” way to build a coaching staff; each Jackson and Popovich’s resumes speak for themselves. Instead, the contrasting shapes of their networks serve to highlight two distinct approaches behind the construction of some of the NBA’s most legendary dynasties.
NBA Coaches with the Highest Eigenvector Centrality
Our coaches dataset (showing both head coaches and assistant coaches from 2000-present) shows some serious outliers when it comes to eigenvector centrality. Eigenvector centrality is a measure of how important a single node’s (or coach in this context) network is. So it’s more than just seeing how interconnected a coach is, it also gauges how strong (or connected) their connections are. First, we should look into Chris Jent, the leader by quite a margin. Chris Jent is a career assistant coach who is currently with Charlotte, but has coached for a number of NBA teams. He has been an assistant for such head coaches as Mike Malone, Darvin Ham, and Randy Ayers. He has also served as a mentor for a number of other high centrality coaches in our dataset, which is what gives him the highest centrality value. All of these head coaches have a very high out degree, meaning they are connected to a number of other nodes.
Next, we have Clifford Ray. Clifford served as an assistant coach for 7 different NBA teams, which is the same amount as Jent, but Ray’s network is less strong than Jent’s. However, his high number of jobs gives him a high centrality. It is also worth noting that Ray and Jent worked together as assistants at one point. Neither Ray, Jent or any of our high centrality coaches served on many winning teams, which means the teams that they were on tend to have higher levels of turnover. This is likely what gives them these strong centrality values, as they naturally bounce around different coaching staff groups. But it is likely because of their high centrality that they continue to get jobs, as their influence from mentors can bring an extra edge to a locker room.
As we continue to explore our high centrality coaches like Mutombo,
Kalamian, English and Westhead, we can see that typically they served as
an assistant to (or were mentored, you could say) by one or more
established NBA head coaches (Erik Spoelstra, Gregg Popovich, etc.).
These coaches aren’t necessarily the most connected, far from it in
fact. They simply have connections to those that are also connected.
Some nodes have a lot more connections, but those connections aren’t
strongly connected to any others (maybe they only spent a year or two in
the league or spent an extended period of time with only one coaching
group). This shows us that a coach has a better chance of achieving high
centrality if they build a strong network instead of staying on a
winning team for multiple years. This is also why our highest centrality
coaches are all assistants, as they tend to move around more than a head
coach. The network of each coach will be shown below.
It’s also worth noting that our dataset contains coaches that should
have high centralities, but are suspiciously absent. This is because our
data only goes back as far as 2000, so coaches like Stan Van Gundy,
Billy Donovan and Gregg Popovich will not have notable centrality
values. Besides that, it could also be because they see consistent
success, leading to a lower turnover, which can affect centrality.
Do Hall of Fame players make good head coaches?
Upon taking a look into the post-playing days of Maurice Cheeks, Jason Kidd, Isiah Thomas, Kevin McHale, and Steve Nash, we can observe a variety of outcomes for these former players. Maurice Cheeks was a head coach for three NBA teams, only reaching the playoffs three times and losing in the first round each time. As an assistant, he served on four different teams. This helped him build quite a strong network. As of 2025, his win percentage as a coach is a respectable 49.2% from 597 games, but a lack of playoff success marrs this record a little bit. Cheeks also had a few future NBA head coaches in his network, with Billy Donovan, Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks sharing benches with him.
Jason Kidd started out with the Nets, then moved on to two different teams, making a stop as an assistant as well. In his relatively short career, he has seen some successful seasons, even making it to the NBA finals once in 2024. He has seen some obstacles along the way in clashes with front offices, especially the Luka Doncic trade, but remains a consistent head coach with a career record of 51.6% over 701 games and counting.
Isiah (not Isaiah) Thomas is a legendary point guard, but as a coach, he was unremarkable. With off-court friction with front office staff and poor team performance affecting him, he only stayed in the NBA as a coach for 5 seasons. He totalled a win percentage of 49.2% over 410 games, but his short coaching career was far from smooth sailing.
McHale features as the only player in our list to not play point guard, with the 6’10” Celtic making his name at power forward. As a coach, McHale spent time at two teams, Minnesota and Houston, where he saw minor playoff success, making it to the conference finals one season with Houston. McHale possesses the smallest network in our list, likely due to a very short interim stint with Minnesota and a low turnover during his four years with Houston. He put up a respectable 55.6% win percentage over 417 games.
Steve Nash had the shortest career on our list as of today, but was part of one of the most exciting “what-ifs” in NBA history. He was instated as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets in 2020, where an exciting big three of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden had been built. What followed over Nash’s three season career can only be described as a roller coaster. The team never performed too poorly, but through a mixture of star players missing time through injury and off-court controversy, high staff turnover, and a general lack of cohesion throughout the team, Nash was let go early into his third season and has not returned to coaching as of 2025. He saw the playoffs during both of the seasons he finished, losing in the conference finals one year. Over his short career, he put up a record of 58.4%.
While you could assume that Hall of Fame NBA players would make good head coaches, the data and historical outcomes tell a more complicated story. Players like Maurice Cheeks, Isiah Thomas, and Kevin McHale brought leadership and basketball IQ into their coaching roles, but only McHale saw notable playoff success, and even that was short-lived. Others like Jason Kidd have had extended careers with mixed results and continuously evolving reputations. In summation, greatness on the court doesn’t guarantee strategic or managerial excellence off of it. Centrality also doesn’t seem to be a strong measure for success either, as for our small sample, other career opportunities and front office politics tend to keep former players from remaining in the field for too long. It seems like strong mentors, adaptability and good luck with player performance are better indicators of success in coaching.
Does the Size of the Coaching Staff Influence the Head Coach’s Success?
Using two examples: Gregg Popovich and Larry Brown(from 2000-2010 to be far to Larry)
Gregg Popovich(All with the SAS): 634-268 W/L, .680% WR.
7 of the names are from 2000-2010.
3x NBA Champions, 3x Western conference wins, 8x conference finals appearances.
88-63 W/L PR, 10 straight postseason appearances.
As one can see Popovich, is a very tight knit coach. He keeps his support to only those he fully trusts and believes he can rely on to make a change on his team.
Larry Brown:(PHI,DET,NYK,CHB): 366-318 W/L, .580% WR.
20 names connected.
1x NBA champion with (DET), 2x finals appearances(DET), 2x Eastern conference wins(DET), 3x conference finals appearance(DET,PHI).
51-41 W/L PR, missed playoffs three years.
Brown’s coaching style is a lot of fastball. But in the modern era that is still pretty slow. I think he has the capability to lead a competent roster alone, but as it shows, he relies heavily on a supporting tree to help win.
So what does it tell us?
Even with the size of the staff taken into account, it all comes down to two things, a coaches mentality toward adapting and the support of ownership.
Popovich, renowned for his player skills, had created a playstyle of defense that was meant to stop high flying offenses. Therefore, he had to adapt with the times over the years to keep his defensive model viable, until he eventually couldn’t anymore.
Brown was a storied coach before entering the 21st century. When his old school style entered the new century, it hit a wall.
His style of coaching was not that productive with the modern game, outside of the year where he joined a pre-established Philly team.
It’s not about the size of the coaching staff, but the size of the coach…e’s ability to adjust to the league.
Strategically Unappreciated
Rex Kalamian is the assistant coach who appears most frequently (17) under various head coaches, having worked with a variety of NBA teams. Spanning from the Clippers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Kings, Thunder, Raptors, Clippers, Kings, Pistons, and Nets, and where he currently is, the Bucks. For the Nets, he was also a player scout and was the HC for Armenia’s men’s national team. His most notable time as an assistant coach was with the Raptors under head coach Dwane Casey. Although his stint with the Raptors spanned only from 2015 to 2018, a year before their championship, he can still be attributed to helping the Raptors develop a young OG Anunoby and assemble a winning lineup with VanVleet, Siakam, and Lowry. His extensive reach to other teams and coaches may be a reason why he is considered an effective coach and is still coaching today.
Igor Kokoskov is tied for 2nd for their frequency (13) as an assistant coach and is a major figure in European basketball. He was one of Europe’s earliest advocates for basketball, as he was the first NCAA assistant coach. His time in Europe as a basketball player could’ve brought a unique background to his coaching style. He worked for a total of 10 different NBA teams: the Clippers, Pistons, Suns, Cavaliers, Magic, Jazz, Kings, Mavericks, Nets, and Hawks. His most notable time was with the championship-winning Pistons in 2004 under Larry Brown, and he coached young players at the time such as Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Ben Wallace. His European background and the many different teams he has coached may explain why he is often around the league.
Chris Jent is another coach tied for 2nd with their frequency (13) and has a lot of NBA experience, which could be a reason for so many connections. He has NBA coaching experience, but also college coaching experience with Ohio State. His time as a college coach may help his ability to develop young players. In the NBA, he has been an assistant coach for 7 NBA teams: the 76ers, Magic (multiple HCs), Cavaliers (multiple HCs), Kings, Hawks (multiple HCs), Lakers (multiple HCs), and Hornets (multiple HCs). As you can see, the number of teams Jent has played for is lower than other coaches, such as Kokoskov, who’s been on 10 teams. This might affect his coaching style, as he spent most of his time in Cleveland, where he was LeBron’s shooting coach for 5 years until he left for the Heat.
Alex English is another assistant coach that worked under many HCs (13); however, compared to the other 4 coaches, his network between teams is extremely unique. He is a Hall of Fame player and has only coached for 4 teams. He was an assistant coach for the Raptors, 76ers, Hawks, and Kings. Although the low number of teams may be attributed to a team’s decision to swap head coaches a lot, this is still an interesting coaching career. He is most known for being an assistant coach on the Toronto Raptors from 2004 to 2011, playing under Sam Mitchell and Jay Triano. During his time at the Raptors, he was able to help the Raptors to a playoff run in 2007 and 2008. During this playoff run, he coached rising stars such as Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh. Chris Bosh, especially as he coached him for 6 seasons till he was traded to the team that made him a Hall of Famer, the Heat. His time as an NBA player could be why he’s considered a good coach. Since he was such a good scorer when he was a player, this helped him develop Bosh and many other players to become better scorers.
Tony Brown is 5th when it comes to appearances as an assistant coach (11) and has a long list of teams he’s coached for. He’s coached for 9 teams: the Blazers, Pistons, Raptors, Celtics, Bucks, Clippers, Mavericks, Nets, and Wizards. As an assistant coach, he is most known for his time in Portland, where he coached players such as Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudamire, and Arvydas Sabonis, all players who would go on to have notable NBA careers. Specifically, the Blazers’ 1999 and 2000 seasons, when they were able to make it to the Western Conference Finals with Tony Brown as an assistant coach and Mike Dunleavy. Similar to other coaches, his extensive time coaching, in addition to the many teams he coached for, may be a reason why he has been around the league for so long. This assistant coach experience led him to be a head coach for the Nets, which shows the trust that franchises have in his coaching.
Overall, there is a pattern when it comes to assistant coaches with high frequencies: they’ve coached for a high number of teams. However, there are outliers such as Igor Kokoskov who have a high frequency but with a low number of teams that he’s coached for, potentially showing his quality as an assistant coach. However, all coaches have had success in one aspect or another, indicating they are all of high quality. Rex Kalamian helped develop the championship-winning Raptors, Igor Kokoskov with the 2004 Pistons, Chris Jent as LeBron’s shooting coach before the Heat, Alex English developing a Raptors with Bosh and Bargnani, and Tony Brown with the Blazers in 1999 and 2000. All have coached under many different HCs, and all have seen some sort of success and longevity.
From Coast to Court
Throughout the 21st century, the NBA has employed a wide variety of coaches. Many are from the United States, and a few are from international locations. In an effort to analyze the relationship between coach and hometown (where the head / assistant coach grew up), a list, first of all NBA head / assistant coaches of the 21st century and their hometown + states or their hometown + country, and second, a list of all states and countries and what percentage of the coaches were from those locations, was compiled. In the graph above, the states with the highest percentages appear darker, with California at 15.5% of the total, followed by New York at 8.1% and Illinois at 7.6%. The northeast region of the United States is overall darker than the western region. So why does California appear to be the leading producer of NBA coaches?
This could be for several reasons. Major factors are that the state is highly populated, competitive, and cultured in basketball. California is the most populated state in the US, giving it the advantage of having a large pool of athletes. Southern California in particular is known for its strong basketball programs, and looking at the cities that many head / assistant coaches come from, locations such as Los Angeles, Inglewood, San Diego, and Long Beach are listed. Because of its variety of students, rich athletics scene in well-funded schools, and existing history and ties to the basketball culture, California is also a good candidate for recruiters to find talent and for budding players to network. This cycle of finding students in high schools and academics, and producing NBA players who then become coaches or assistant coaches renders California much darker than the rest of the nation. Coaches from California are: Rick Adelman (Lynwood), Bill Cartwright (Lodi), Michael Cooper (Los Angeles), David Fizdale (Los Angeles), Dennis Johnson (Los Angeles), Jason Kidd (San Francisco), Mike Montgomery (Long Beach), Kevin Ollie (Los Angeles), Lloyd Pierce (San Jose), Joe Prunty (Sunnyvale), Kurt Rambis (Cupertino), Bryon Scott (Inglewood), Brian Shaw (Oakland), Paul Silas (Oakland), Reggie Theus (Inglewood), Jeff Van Gundy (Hemet), Stan Van Gundy (Indio), Jacque Vaughn (Los Angeles), Luke Walton (San Diego), Scott Brooks (French Camp).
The second graph is a visualization of the heritages of coaches heralding from global locations. These include: Jordi Fernández Torres (Badalona, Spain), Steve Kerr (Beirut, Lebanon), Igor Kokosov (Belgrade, Serbia), Darko Rajaković (Čačak, Serbia), Jay Triano (Ontario, Canada), Kiki Vandeweghe (Hesse, Germany), Steve Nash (Victoria, Canada). Out of these seven, Canada and Serbia both have two coaches, making them the darkest in the graph. Canada is geographically close to the US, giving a more obvious reason as to why two out of the seven coaches are from the country’s North American neighbor. Serbia is an interesting case in that the reason why its players have come to play in the NBA may be because of the hard-core and old-school culture of basketball in the country. Basketball is more of a team building and strategy teaching activity than a game for fun. Players are serious and conditioning is rough.
Overall, while there may night be conclusive reasons as to why the maps of where the NBA’s 21st-century head coaches and assistant coaches are from appear this way, it is nonetheless intuitive to see the spread and how all these varying backgrounds make up the coaching network of the NBA today.