Here is my attempt at ranking every current head coach by how good they were as players:
Rank | Head coach | Team | Highest Level |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jason Kidd | Dallas Mavericks | HOF |
2 | Chauncey Billups | Portland Trail Blazers | HOF |
3 | Doc Rivers | Milwaukee Bucks | All Star |
4 | Steve Kerr | Golden State Warriors | Championship 6th Man |
5 | JJ Redick | Los Angeles Lakers | Playoff Starter |
6 | Willie Green | New Orleans Pelicans | Playoff Starter |
7 | Tyronn Lue | Los Angeles Clippers | Lottery Starter |
8 | Ime Udoka | Houston Rockets | Lottery Starter |
9 | Rick Carlisle | Indiana Pacers | End of NBA bench |
10 | Billy Donovan | Chicago Bulls | End of NBA bench |
11 | Charles Lee | Charlotte Hornets | Patriot League Player of the Year |
12 | Kenny Atkinson | Cleveland Cavaliers | Averaged 19 PPG senior year at Richmond. Played 10 years internationally. |
13 | Jamahl Mosley | Orlando Magic | 3rd team All-Big 12. Played 4 years internationally. |
14 | Chris Finch | Minnesota Timberwolves | 2x D3 All-American. Played 4 years internationally. |
15 | Brian Keefe | Washington Wizards | 2nd team All-Big West |
16 | Quin Snyder | Atlanta Hawks | Starting PG on '89 Duke Final Four team |
17 | Joe Mazzulla | Boston Celtics | Starter on '10 West Virginia Final Four team |
18 | Nick Nurse | Philadelphia 76ers | All-time three-point percentage leader at Northern Iowa |
19 | J. B. Bickerstaff | Detroit Pistons | Averaged 11 PPG 6 RPG senior year at Minnesota |
20 | Erik Spoelstra | Miami Heat | West Coast Conference freshman of the year |
21 | Mike Brown | Sacramento Kings | Played 2 years for San Diego Toreros |
22 | Mike Budenholzer | Phoenix Suns | 4 year letterman at Pomona College |
23 | Michael Malone | Denver Nuggets | 4 year letterman Loyola University Maryland |
24 | Gregg Popovich | San Antonio Spurs | Captian senior year at Air Force Academy |
25 | Tom Thibodeau | New York Knicks | Captian senior year at Salem State College |
26 | Will Hardy | Utah Jazz | Played 1 year at Williams College |
27 | Mark Daigneault | Oklahoma City Thunder | Student manager at Uconn |
28 | Taylor Jenkins | Memphis Grizzlies | Two-time captain in high school |
29 | Darko Rajaković | Toronto Raptors | Started coaching at 16 |
30 | Jordi Fernández | Brooklyn Nets | Started coaching at 15 |
The top 10 all played in the NBA, and so it was easier to compare their careers as players.
Everyone else but Taylor Jenkins, Darko Rajaković, and Jordi Fernández played some college ball, so this was a bit tougher to rank. For the most part I ranked them according to their college production/level of competition, although there are some exceptions.
edit: updated to include their highest level they played at
JJ Reddick was a lot better than Steve Kerr lol