NBA All-time Coaches with most Regular Season wins

Behind every winning team, there is always a great coach who makes it all possible. Only the best head coaches can skillfully orchestrate their players on the court, leading them to victory.

And let’s never forget: winning is never a given.

So, after showing a lot of records, it’s now time to present the coaches with most wins in NBA history.

NBA coach with most regular season wins

The most successful coach in NBA history is Gregg Popovich, with 1.400 regular-season wins achieved over 2.200 games.

On the night of March 12, 2022, his San Antonio Spurs emerged victorious in a nail-biter against the Utah Jazz (104-102), earning him the title of the winningest head coach in NBA history.
But let’s take a moment to revisit the most important milestones in Coach Pop’s illustrious career.

Born in 1949 in Chicago to Yugoslav parents, Popovich began his coaching career at just 23 years old as an assistant for the Air Force Falcons, the team of the U.S. Air Force Academy.

His big break came in 1988 when he joined the San Antonio Spurs as an assistant coach. It was love at first sight, one of those rare bonds that endure to this day. Indeed, more than 30 years later, there are no Spurs without Popovich, and no Popovich without the Spurs.

Their paths, however, temporarily diverged in 1992, when Gregg decided to gain valuable experience – and what an experience it was -by accepting a role as Don Nelson’s assistant coach (more on him later) with the Golden State Warriors.

This pivotal stint in San Francisco ended in 1994. Having been shaped by one of the greatest coaches of all time, Popovich was finally ready for the big leap. In 1996, he became the head coach of his beloved San Antonio Spurs… and the rest is history.

5 rings and 1,400 (and counting) wins later, we’re here to celebrate this sports legend, who also had the pleasure of leading Team USA to Olympic gold in Tokyo 2020.

Honorable mention

The second winningest coach in NBA history is Don Nelson, with 1.335 regular-season wins over 2.398 games played.

Nelson had a long and distinguished coaching career, which began in 1976 with the Milwaukee Bucks and ended in 2010 with the Golden State Warriors (his second stint in the Bay Area, following his first from 1988 to 1995). In addition to these two franchises, he also coached the Knicks and Mavericks.

Although he never won an NBA championship as a coach (despite having 5 rings as a player with the Boston Celtics), his groundbreaking ideas and 1.335 victories have earned him a place among the top 10 coaches in NBA history.

NBA coaches with most regular season wins