List of New York Knicks head coaches

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The New York Knickerbockers are an American professional basketball team based in New York City. They are a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). They play their home games at Madison Square Garden. The franchise's official name "Knickerbockers" came from the style of pants Dutch settlers wore when they moved to America. [1] Having joined the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the predecessor of the NBA, in 1946, the Knicks remain as one of the oldest teams in the NBA. [2] During Red Holzman's tenure, the franchise won its only two NBA championships, the 1970 NBA Finals and the 1973 NBA Finals.

Contents

There have been 31 head coaches for the New York Knicks franchise. Holzman was the franchise's first Coach of the Year winner and is the team's all-time leader in regular season games coached, regular season games won, playoff games coached, and playoff games won. [3] Holzman was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1986 as a coach. [3] Besides Holzman, Rick Pitino, Don Nelson, Pat Riley, Lenny Wilkens, and Larry Brown have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as coaches. Four coaches have been named to the list of the top 10 coaches in NBA history. [4] Neil Cohalan, Joe Lapchick, Vince Boryla, Carl Braun, Eddie Donovan and Herb Williams have spent their entire coaching careers with the Knicks. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Boryla, Braun, Harry Gallatin, Dick McGuire, Willis Reed and Williams formerly played for the Knicks. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

Key

GCGames coached
WWins
LLosses
Win% Winning percentage
#Number of coaches [a]
*Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Knicks
†Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach

Coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2023–24 season.

#NameTerm [b] GCWLWin%GCWLWin%AchievementsReference
Regular seasonPlayoffs
1 Neil Cohalan * 1946–1947 603327.550523.400 [5]
2 Joe Lapchick * 1947–1956 573326247.569603030.500 [6]
3 Vince Boryla * 1956–1958 1658085.485——— [7]
4 Andrew Levane 1958–1959 994851.485202.000 [17]
5 Carl Braun * 1959–1961 (as player-coach)1274087.315——— [8]
6 Eddie Donovan * 1961–1965 27884194.302——— [9]
7 Harry Gallatin 1965 632538.397——— [18]
8 Dick McGuire 1965–1967 17775102.424413.250 [19]
9 Red Holzman † 1967–1977 783466317.595955441.568 1969–70 NBA Coach of the Year
2 championships (1970, 1973)
One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history [4] 		[3]
10 Willis Reed 1977–1978 964947.510624.333 [20]
Red Holzman † 1978–1982 314147167.468202.000One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history [4] [3]
11 Hubie Brown 1982–1986 344142202.41318810.444 [21]
12 Bob Hill 1986–1987 662046.303——— [22]
13 Rick Pitino † 1987–1989 1649074.5491367.462 [23]
14 Stu Jackson 1989–1990 975245.5361046.400 [24]
15 John MacLeod 1990–1991 673235.478303.000 [25]
16 Pat Riley † 1991–1995 328223105.680633528.556 1992–93 NBA Coach of the Year
One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history [4] 		[26]
17 Don Nelson † 1995–1996 593425.576———One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history [4] [27]
18 Jeff Van Gundy 1996–2001 420248172.590693732.536 [28]
19 Don Chaney 2001–2004 18472112.391——— [29]
20 Herb Williams * 2004 1101.000——— [10]
21 Lenny Wilkens † 2004–2005 814041.494404.000One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history [4] [30]
Herb Williams * 2005 431627.372——— [10]
22 Larry Brown † 2005–2006 822359.280——— [31]
23 Isiah Thomas 2006–2008 16456108.341——— [32]
24 Mike D'Antoni 2008–2012 288121167.420404.000 [33]
25 Mike Woodson 2012–2014 18810979.58017710.412 [34]
26 Derek Fisher * 2014–2016 1364096.294———— [35]
27 Kurt Rambis 2016 28919.321———— [36]
28 Jeff Hornacek 2016–2018 16460104.366———— [37]
29 David Fizdale 2018–2019 1042183.202———— [38]
30 Mike Miller * 2019–2020 441727.386———— [39]
31 Tom Thibodeau 2020–present318175143.550291415.483 2020–21 NBA Coach of the Year [40]

Notes

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References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ "Why Knickerbockers?". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on March 4, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  2. ↑ "History of the New York Knicks". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on October 16, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Red Holzman Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Top 10 Coaches in NBA History". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  5. 1 2 "Neil Cohalan Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  6. 1 2 "Joe Lapchick Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  7. 1 2 "Vince Boryla Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  8. 1 2 "Carl Braun Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on March 7, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  9. 1 2 "Eddie Donovan Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  10. 1 2 3 "Herb Williams Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Vince Boryla Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on October 21, 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
  12. ↑ "Carl Braun Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on March 3, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Harry Gallatin Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
  14. ↑ "Dick McGuire Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Willis Reed Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Herb Williams Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Andrew Levane Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on December 4, 2009. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
  18. ↑ "Harry Gallatin Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on December 2, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  19. ↑ "Dick McGuire Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  20. ↑ "Willis Reed Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on October 18, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Hubie Brown Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on April 15, 2009. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  22. ↑ "Bob Hill Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  23. ↑ "Rick Pitino Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  24. ↑ "Stu Jackson Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  25. ↑ "John MacLeod Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on July 21, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  26. ↑ "Pat Riley Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on March 7, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  27. ↑ "Don Nelson Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  28. ↑ "Jeff Van Gundy Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  29. ↑ "Don Chaney Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  30. ↑ "Lenny Wilkens Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  31. ↑ "Larry Brown Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  32. ↑ "Isiah Thomas Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved October 8, 2008.
  33. ↑ "Mike D'Antoni Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Mike Woodson Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  35. ↑ "Derek Fisher Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on July 5, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Kurt Rambis Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on July 2, 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Jeff Hornacek Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  38. ↑ "David Fizdale Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  39. ↑ "Mike Miller Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  40. ↑ "Tom Thibodeau Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2024.

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