If you think your favorite basketball players are making all the money, think again because pro basketball coaches are making some major coin these days. Head coaches might not make as much as the big stars in the NBA league, but they are certainly paid well.
A pro basketball coach's job is to help your favorite names play magnificently and take the team onto victory. It is, however, important to note that even though a team cannot survive without a coach, the bulk of the work is on the players, and this is why they tend to be paid the most. Some of the best NBA coaches have a number of wins under their belts which is what makes them really great.
In addition to this, most of them have long histories of great performances in more than one team. In this review, we will look at five of the greatest coaches in pro basketball right now, and how much they make in their field. You will be amazed to note that some of them are making plenty of money for the coaching gig.
Gregg Popovich
Team: San Antonio Spurs
Salary: $11 Million a year
“Coach Pop,” as he is commonly referred is considered to be one of the best coaches in the history of the NBA. He took over as the Spurs coach in 1996 and has the longest tenure of any active coach currently. He has won five NBA championships in his time as a coach with the Spurs, and he is also one of only 9 other coaches to have won more than 1,000 games in the NBA. He was awarded “coach of the year” in 2014 and has a multi-year contract so he can continue to coach the Spurs.
Tom Thibodeau
Minnesota Timberwolves
Salary: $10 million
Tom Thibodeau is a veteran coach for more than two decades. He had his first job as an assistant for the Vikings which was in 1981. He was then promoted to the head coach at Salem State University. Before his current job, he had worked for 4 years with Harvard University. He is also regarded as one of the greatest and has over time helped many teams such as the Houston Rockets, the 76ers, the Bulls, The New York Knicks achieve great success.
Doc Rivers
Los Angeles Clippers
Salary: $10 million
Doc Rivers has yet to prove his worth with the Los Angeles Clippers, as they have not yet won an NBA title under his leadership, but he has been very successful. He kept the Clippers competitive at the Western Conference and has had his group on the verge of a breakthrough for a while. This is a good thing because he is paid quite a lot.
Dwane Casey
Detroit Pistons (TIE)
Salary: $7 million
Casey had two previous coaching jobs before his current position as head coach of the Detroit Pistons. He first got appointed to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a period of 3 years from 2005 – 2007, this was after he had worked as an assistant coach for the SuperSonics. He then went to work for the Raptors for the next seven years. He was finally hired by the Pistons at the beginning of the 2018 season, and it is rumored that this is a five-year contract that is valued at $35 million.
Rick Carlisle
Dallas Mavericks (TIE)
Salary: $7 million
Although Rick Carlisle remains one of the best NBA coaches of all time, his current work with the Mavericks hasn’t been great. However, despite this, his salary is still huge as the mavericks have great promise for the future, mostly because of him and the two best players in the NBA. Carlisle has a good chance of adding to his wins.
He is one of the fewest people on earth to have won an NBA championship both as a player and a coach. He has always been one of the best head coaches in the league together with Greg Popovich. He won the coach of the year once, during his first season as a coach.
His previous work history has also been phenomenal as he led the Indiana team to a few wins during his time from 2003 – 2007. He still continues to showcase his coaching skills in the best ways. He was appointed to the Mavericks the first time in 2008 when he was then 59 years old. He was responsible for the franchise’s only win in2011. His contract is worth $35 million and it is for the next 5 seasons. This makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NBA.
5 Pro Basketball Coaches With Massive Paychecks Conclusion
Having intuition, smarts and knowledge of the game is what makes a coach great. The above five coaches have all that and more, and this is why they deserve the big bucks. Being a coach may seem easy when a team wins, but it is nothing but easy. These coaches have to work very hard to motivate dozens of team members to get those big wins - their jobs and salary depend on it.
