Ranking Top 4 Mavs Coaches of All Time
DALLAS - At first glance, the challenge of ranking the top five Dallas Mavericks coaches of all time doesn't seem like much of a challenge at all. After all, Dallas has been in the NBA since 1980 and has captured one NBA championship.
That was in 2011. The coach was Rick Carlisle. End of discussion, right?
Interestingly, I bet if Carlisle were allowed to vote here, he'd make sure the other guys on the list get some acclaim, too - including one who is already in the Hall of Fame, where Rick is destined to be some day as well.
Here's my top four:
However, the Mavs have also had some elite coaches stroll the sidelines. For this piece, we ranked the four best coaches in Dallas franchise history.
4. Avery Johnson
Johnson's resume is full of positives. His record here? An eye-popping 194-70 - easily has the highest win percentage in franchise history. He coached Dallas to the 2006 Finals, and was in a position to win ... until maybe he got out-coached or maybe he got out-reffed.
"The Little General'' got out-coached the next postseason, too, by another guy on this list ... and all the while sort of acted "bigger than the program'' sometimes, in terms of his stubbornness.
But Avery Johnson should be remembered fondly here. He took a Don Nelson-built team and made it better. And Dirk Nowitzki will tell you, he took Dirk and made him better, too.
3. Dick Motta
Motta went to the playoffs four times in nine years ... and is the franchise leader in games lost.
Of course, that's because he started in 1980, with a Dallas expansion franchise and helped orchestrate a turn toward respectability ... and almost toward greatness.
2. Don Nelson
Nellie is in the Hall of Fame, for so man obvious reasons, starting with the fact he has the most wins in NBA history with 1,335. But he was also an innovator, almost to the point of zaniness. Sometimes his creativity changed the game (the "point forward''). Sometimes it seemed just a wa for Nellie to keep from getting bored.
But he helped make a bad franchise a good one, and a morose franchise an electric one. His conflicts with owner Mark Cuban remain unfortunate. But his discoveries and developments (along with son Donnie) of Nowitzki and Steve Nash are legendary.
1. Rick Carlisle
Carlisle has the most wins in franchise history with 510 and is also No. 1 in playoff victories with 28. Around here, we've long considered in the Gregg Popovich class as a coach - and that that class only includes two of 'em total.
© Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Rick has mastered the ability to mesh with owner Mark Cuban and with Donnie. He has mastered the ability to help his players understand that he isn't "managing'' them - he's helping them manage themselves. He has run every sort of system depending on the talents of his players, blends old-school and new, and carries himself in a way that demands the most of the people around him.
Rick Carlisle isn't just the best Mavs coach ever; he's one of the best coaches in NBA history.
