Most games coached: Cleveland Cavaliers
Lenny Wilkins, who is third all-time in coaching victories, coached the Cavaliers for 574 games.
The Cavaliers were founded in 1970 and have had 24 coaches in their 55 years. Among them are some of the more renowned coaches in NBA history, including multiple Hall of Famers and members of the top 25 all-time coaching wins list.
After over a decade of coaching in the college ranks, Fitch was hired as the first coach in the Cavaliers’ franchise history and spent nine seasons at the helm. His run with the team saw him tally a 304-434 record and earn three playoff appearances. His best season came in 1975-76 when he won NBA Coach of the Year and Cleveland won 49 games before advancing to the Conference Finals. What followed was back-to-back 43-win seasons, before a 30-win campaign in 78-79 that led to his departure. Fitch would go on to coach the Boston Celtics, helping guide them to an NBA Championship in 1981, and later would coach the Rockets, making it to the NBA Finals in 1986. Fitch’s 304 wins are third all-time among Cavaliers coaches, while his 944 all-time wins currently rank 12th in NBA coaching history. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
After a mostly successful tenure in Seattle that saw Wilkins and the Supersonics win an NBA Championship in 1979, he was hired by the Cavaliers in 1986. Wilkins would coach Cleveland for seven seasons, compiling a 316-258 record and making five playoff appearances. Unfortunately, Wilkins and the Cavaliers frequently ran into Michael Jordan and a dominant Bulls squad in the postseason. They could not push any further than a Conference Finals appearance in 1992 after a 57-win season. He would end up resigning in 1993 and would go on to coach the Hawks, Raptors, and Knicks before leaving the bench for good in 2005. His head coaching career would end with 1,332 victories, good for third all-time behind Gregg Popovich (1,422) and Don Nelson (1,335). Wilkins has not only been inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame as a player and as part of the 1992 NBA Dream Team as an assistant coach, but also as a head coach in 1998.
Brown would get two stints in Cleveland, with his first coming in 2005 after spending time as an assistant with the Wizards, Spurs and Pacers. He never had a losing season in Cleveland during his first run with the team, finishing with at least 45 wins in each of his five seasons. That also included a still franchise-best 66-win campaign in 2009 that earned him NBA Coach of the Year honors. In 2007, he would take his team to the NBA Finals, but they would fall to the Spurs in a four-game sweep. After a 61-win campaign in 2010 that saw the Cavs fall in the second round of the playoffs to the Celtics, he was let go. Brown was rehired in 2013 after his replacement, Byron Scott, was released. His second tenure only lasted one season, where he coached Cleveland to a 33-49 mark. He would finish his time with the franchise with a 305-187 record, and his .620 winning percentage trails only Kenny Atkinson and David Blatt in team history.
After seven seasons and five playoff appearances with the Atlanta Hawks, Fratello would take over the Cavaliers’ coaching reins in 1993. He would spend six seasons in Cleveland, finishing above .500 in each of his first five years there and making the playoffs on four occasions. Unfortunately, Fratello was never able to get the Cavs beyond the first round, and after missing the playoffs in 1999, Fratello was let go. His 248-212 record with the club is still among the best in franchise history, ranking him sixth in win percentage and fourth in wins. He would later go on to coach the Grizzlies for three seasons from 2004-07 and is currently 23rd all-time with 667 NBA coaching wins.
Bickerstaff had previously been a head coach with the Rockets and Grizzlies before joining Cleveland as an assistant coach in 2019. Then, head coach John Beilein resigned in February 2020, paving the way for Bickerstaff to take over as head coach, first in the interim, then being hired as the permanent replacement a month later. His first full season in Cleveland was a struggle, securing just 22 wins. He would turn the tide a year later, in a 44-win effort. The next two seasons would see Bickerstaff guide the Cavs to 51 and 48-win seasons, respectively, as well as back-to-back playoff appearances. He was let go in May 2024, after a second-round playoff exit, and finished his time in Cleveland with a 170-159 record. Bickerstaff is now the head coach of the Detroit Pistons.
