Only Five NBA Teams Have Head Coaches They Hired Before the Pandemic

NBA head coaches have a high bounce rate.

Dec 6, 2017; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich (left) and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra shake hands following the game at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports / Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

After seven long weeks the Los Angeles Lakers and JJ Redick finally made it official on Thursday. Redick will become the 29th head coach in Lakers history and will remain the shortest-tenured head coach in the NBA until the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers hire replacements for Monty Williams and J.B. Bickerstaff.

The truth is, tenure is not what it used to be. While Redick is a podcaster who has never coached at a level above youth basketball, he's not that far behind many of the current NBA head coaches when it comes to experience. Jordi Fernandez of the Brooklyn Nets an Charles Lee of the Charlotte Hornets are both making their head coaching debuts this season along with Redick. Brian Keefe of the Washington Wizards spent less than one full season as a head coach and Darko Rajakovic of the Toronto Raptors will be entering his second full season.

In fact, only five teams have coaches who were hired before the start of the pandemic. You've got Gregg Popovich who has been in charge of the Spurs since 1996 and Erik Spoelstra who took over in Miami in 2008. After that there's Steve Kerr who was hired in 2014 and Mike Malone who was hired in 2015. Taylor Jenkins, who went 27-55 last season, has been with the Memphis Grizzlies since 2019.

That's it. That's the list. Approximately five teams change coaches every single offseason. Fifteen teams have changed head coaches since May 2022. Redick will be the sixth Lakers head coach in the last decade and will be the ninth Lakers head coach to face the Miami Heat in the Erik Spoelstra era.

The point of all this? It seems unlikely that Redick lasts very long. LeBron James turns 40 this season. He seems like he wants to finish his career in LA, but he has a player option next summer. He could leave to fulfill his dream of playing with his son or just retire to focus on his podcasting.

The good news for Redick is that it should only take about three years to become one of the longest-tenured coaches in the NBA.