List of Los Angeles Clippers head coaches
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The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] The Clippers joined the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team. The team has had three names since its inception: the Buffalo Braves (1970–1978), the San Diego Clippers (1978–1984), and the Los Angeles Clippers (1984–present). The Clippers are the oldest franchise in the NBA to have never reached the league finals.[2] The team has played its home games at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly Staples Center) since 1999.[3] The Clippers are owned by Steve Ballmer, and Dave Wohl is their general manager.
There have been 25 head coaches for the Clippers. The franchise's first head coach was Dolph Schayes, who coached for 83 games in two seasons. Mike Dunleavy is the franchise's all-time leader in regular-season games coached (541). Doc Rivers is the franchise's all-time leader in regular-season games won (307), playoff games coached (46), and playoff games won (22). Jack Ramsay, Larry Brown, Bill Fitch, Mike Dunleavy, Vinny Del Negro, Doc Rivers, and Tyronn Lue, are the only coaches to have reached the playoffs with the Clippers. Ramsay and Fitch were also named as two of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History in 1996.[4] Ramsay, Brown and Fitch are the only Clippers coaches to have been elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach.[5][6][7] The current head coach of the Clippers is Tyronn Lue.
Key
GC | Games coached |
W | Wins |
L | Losses |
Win% | Winning percentage |
# | Number of coaches |
* | Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Braves/Clippers |
† | Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach |
Coaches
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2023–24 season.
# | Name | Term | GC | W | L | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | Achievements | Reference | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||
Buffalo Braves | |||||||||||||||
1 | Dolph Schayes | 1970–1971 | 83 | 22 | 61 | .265 | — | — | — | — | [8] | ||||
2 | Johnny McCarthy* | 1971–1972 | 81 | 22 | 59 | .272 | — | — | — | — | [9] | ||||
3 | Jack Ramsay† | 1972–1976 | 328 | 158 | 170 | .482 | 22 | 9 | 13 | .409 | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history (1996)[4] | [5] | |||
4 | Tates Locke* | 1976–1977 | 46 | 16 | 30 | .348 | — | — | — | — | [10] | ||||
5 | Bob MacKinnon | 1977 | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | — | — | — | — | [11] | ||||
6 | Joe Mullaney | 1977 | 29 | 11 | 18 | .379 | — | — | — | — | [12] | ||||
7 | Cotton Fitzsimmons | 1977–1978 | 82 | 27 | 55 | .329 | — | — | — | — | [13] | ||||
San Diego Clippers | |||||||||||||||
8 | Gene Shue | 1978–1980 | 164 | 78 | 86 | .476 | — | — | — | — | [14] | ||||
9 | Paul Silas | 1980–1983 | 246 | 78 | 168 | .317 | — | — | — | — | [15] | ||||
10 | Jim Lynam | 1983–1984 | 82 | 30 | 52 | .366 | — | — | — | — | [16] | ||||
Los Angeles Clippers | |||||||||||||||
— | Jim Lynam | 1984–1985 | 61 | 22 | 39 | .361 | — | — | — | — | [16] | ||||
11 | Don Chaney | 1985–1987 | 185 | 53 | 132 | .286 | — | — | — | — | [17] | ||||
— | Gene Shue | 1987–1989 | 120 | 27 | 93 | .225 | — | — | — | — | [14] | ||||
12 | Don Casey | 1989–1990 | 126 | 41 | 85 | .325 | — | — | — | — | [18] | ||||
13 | Mike Schuler | 1990–1992 | 127 | 52 | 75 | .409 | — | — | — | — | [19] | ||||
14 | Mack Calvin* | 1992 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | — | — | — | — | [20] | ||||
15 | Larry Brown† | 1992–1993 | 117 | 64 | 53 | .547 | 10 | 4 | 6 | .400 | One of the 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History (2021) | [6] | |||
16 | Bob Weiss | 1993–1994 | 82 | 27 | 55 | .329 | — | — | — | — | [21] | ||||
17 | Bill Fitch† | 1994–1998 | 328 | 99 | 229 | .302 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history (1996)[4] | [22] | |||
18 | Chris Ford | 1998–2000 | 95 | 20 | 75 | .211 | — | — | — | — | [23] | ||||
19 | Jim Todd* | 2000 | 37 | 4 | 33 | .108 | — | — | — | — | [24] | ||||
20 | Alvin Gentry | 2000–2003 | 222 | 89 | 133 | .401 | — | — | — | — | [25] | ||||
21 | Dennis Johnson* | 2003 | 24 | 8 | 16 | .333 | — | — | — | — | [26] | ||||
22 | Mike Dunleavy, Sr. | 2003–2010 | 541 | 215 | 326 | .397 | 12 | 7 | 5 | .583 | [27] | ||||
23 | Kim Hughes* | 2010 | 33 | 8 | 25 | .242 | — | — | — | — | [28] | ||||
24 | Vinny Del Negro | 2010–2013 | 230 | 128 | 102 | .557 | 17 | 6 | 11 | .353 | [29] | ||||
25 | Doc Rivers | 2013–2020 | 564 | 356 | 208 | .631 | 59 | 27 | 32 | .458 | One of the 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History (2021) | [30] | |||
26 | Tyronn Lue | 2020–present | 318 | 184 | 134 | .579 | 24 | 11 | 13 | .458 | [31] |
- Dennis Johnson coached the Clippers for 24 games.
- Alvin Gentry coached the Clippers from 2000-2003.
- Vinny Del Negro coached the Clippers to back to back playoff appearances during his three-year tenure with the team.
- Doc Rivers was the Clippers head coach from 2013-2020.
- Tyronn Lue is the current head coach of the Clippers since 2020.
References
- General
- "Los Angeles Clippers Coach Register". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 12, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- Specific
- ^ "2008-2009 Division Regular Season Standings". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- ^ "Team Index". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "About Staples Center". Staples Center. Archived from the original on September 14, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- ^ a b c
One of the 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History (2021)"Top 10 Coaches in NBA History". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive. Archived from the original on January 19, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2009. - ^ a b "Jack Ramsay Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 16, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ a b "Larry Brown Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Bill Fitch Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
- ^ "Dolph Schayes Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Johnny McCarthy Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Tates Locke Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on July 8, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Bob MacKinnon Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Joe Mullaney Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 1, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Cotton Fitzsimmons Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ a b "Gene Shue Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Paul Silas Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on February 8, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ a b "Jim Lynam Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Don Chaney Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Don Casey Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Mike Schuler Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Mack Calvin Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Bob Weiss Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Bill Fitch Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Chris Ford Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 8, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Jim Todd Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Alvin Gentry Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Dennis Johnson Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Mike Dunleavy Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- ^ "Kim Hughes Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on February 19, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
- ^ "Vinny Del Negro Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- ^ "Doc Rivers Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- ^ "Tyronn Lue Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- v
- t
- e
- Dolph Schayes (1970–1971)
- Johnny McCarthy (1971–1972)
- Jack Ramsay (1972–1976)
- Tates Locke (1976–1977)
- Bob MacKinnon (1977)
- Joe Mullaney (1977)
- Cotton Fitzsimmons (1977–1978)
- Gene Shue (1978–1980)
- Paul Silas (1980–1983)
- Jim Lynam (1983–1985)
- Don Chaney (1985–1987)
- Gene Shue (1987–1989)
- Don Casey (1989–1990)
- Mike Schuler (1990–1992)
- Mack Calvin # (1992)
- Larry Brown (1992–1993)
- Bob Weiss (1993–1994)
- Bill Fitch (1994–1998)
- Chris Ford (1998–2000)
- Jim Todd # (2000)
- Alvin Gentry (2000–2003)
- Dennis Johnson # (2003)
- Mike Dunleavy (2003–2010)
- Kim Hughes # (2010)
- Vinny Del Negro (2010–2013)
- Doc Rivers (2013–2020)
- Tyronn Lue (2020– )
# denotes interim head coach