List of Cleveland Cavaliers head coaches

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The Cleveland Cavaliers are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers play in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team joined the NBA in 1970 as an expansion team and won their first Eastern Conference championship in 2007.[1] The Cavaliers have played their home games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, formerly known as Quicken Loans Arena and Gund Arena, since 1994.[2] The Cavaliers are owned by Dan Gilbert, with Koby Altman as their general manager.[3] American R&B-pop singer Usher Raymond is a minority owner.[4]

There have been 23 head coaches for the Cavaliers franchise. The franchise's first head coach was Bill Fitch, who coached for nine seasons. Fitch is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (738);[5] Lenny Wilkens is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season game wins (316); Mike Brown is the franchise's all-time leader for the most playoff games coached (71) and the most playoff game wins (42). David Blatt has the highest regular-season winning percentage (.675) and the highest playoff winning percentage (.700). Tyronn Lue is the only coach to lead the Cavaliers to an NBA championship, in 2016. Chuck Daly, Wilkens and Fitch have been elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as head coaches, partly due to their work with the Cavaliers.[6][7] Fitch, Daly and Wilkens were also named as 3 of the top 10 coaches in NBA history.[8] Fitch and Brown are the only Cavaliers coaches to have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award.[9]

Key[edit]

GC Games coached
W Wins
L Losses
Win% Winning percentage
# Number of coaches[a]
* Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Cavaliers
† Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach

Coaches[edit]

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

# Name Term[b] GC W L Win% GC W L Win% Achievements Reference
Regular season Playoffs
1 Bill Fitch† 1970–1979 738 304 434 .412 18 7 11 .389 1975–76 NBA Coach of the Year[9]
One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[8] 		[5]
2 Stan Albeck 1979–1980 82 37 45 .451 — — — — [10]
3 Bill Musselman 1980–1981 71 25 46 .352 — — — — [11]
4 Don Delaney*[12] 1981 26 7 19 .269 — — — — [13]
5 Bob Kloppenburg[14] 1981 3 0 3 .000 — — — — [15]
6 Chuck Daly†[16] 1981–1982 41 9 32 .220 — — — — One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[8] [7]
— Bill Musselman[17] 1982 23 2 21 .087 — — — — [11]
7 Tom Nissalke 1982–1984 164 51 113 .311 — — — — [18]
8 George Karl† 1984–1986 149 61 88 .409 4 1 3 .250 [19]
9 Gene Littles[20] 1986 15 4 11 .267 — — — — [21]
10 Lenny Wilkens† 1986–1993 574 316 258 .551 41 18 23 .439 One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[8] [6]
11 Mike Fratello 1993–1999 460 248 212 .539 14 2 12 .143 [22]
12 Randy Wittman 1999–2001 164 62 102 .378 — — — — [23]
13 John Lucas 2001–2003 124 37 87 .298 — — — — [24]
14 Keith Smart[25] 2003 40 9 31 .225 — — — — [26]
15 Paul Silas 2003–2005 146 69 77 .473 — — — — [27]
16 Brendan Malone[28] 2005 18 8 10 .444 — — — — [29]
17 Mike Brown 2005–2010 410 272 138 .663 71 42 29 .592 Eastern Conference championship (2007)[1]
2008–09 NBA Coach of the Year[9] 		[30]
18 Byron Scott 2010–2013 230 64 166 .278 — — — — [31]
— Mike Brown 2013–2014 82 33 49 .402 — — — — [30]
19 David Blatt* 2014–2016 113 83 40 .675 20 14 6 .700 Eastern Conference championship (2015)
20 Tyronn Lue[32] 2016–2018 211 128 83 .607 61 41 20 .672 NBA championship (2016)
Three Eastern Conference championships (2016–2018)
2016 ESPY Award for Best Coach/Manager 		[33]
21 Larry Drew[34] 2018–2019 76 19 57 .250 — — — —
22 John Beilein* 2019–2020 54 14 40 .259 — — — —
23 J. B. Bickerstaff[35] 2020–present 329 170 159 .517 5 1 4 .200 [36]
  • After coaching the Cavaliers for 41 games (with a 9–32 record), Chuck Daly was dismissed during the 1981–82 season.[37][38][39]
    After coaching the Cavaliers for 41 games (with a 9–32 record), Chuck Daly was dismissed during the 1981–82 season.[37][38][39]
  • Lenny Wilkens was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1986 to 1993.
    Lenny Wilkens was the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1986 to 1993.
  • Two-time head coach Mike Brown coached the Cavaliers from 2005 to 2010, and again during the 2013–14 season. During his first stint, he led the Cavs to their first NBA Finals appearance in 2007.
    Two-time head coach Mike Brown coached the Cavaliers from 2005 to 2010, and again during the 2013–14 season. During his first stint, he led the Cavs to their first NBA Finals appearance in 2007.
  • Byron Scott was the head coach of the Cavaliers from 2010 to 2013. During the 2010–2011 season, the Cavs lost 26 games in a row - tied for the longest losing streak in the four major professional sports.
    Byron Scott was the head coach of the Cavaliers from 2010 to 2013. During the 2010–2011 season, the Cavs lost 26 games in a row - tied for the longest losing streak in the four major professional sports.

Notes[edit]

  • a A running total of the number of coaches of the Cavaliers. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
  • b Each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season.

References[edit]

General
  • "Year-By-Year Finish and Coaching Records". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
  • "Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Register". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
Specific
  1. ^ a b "2006-07 Cleveland Cavaliers Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  2. ^ "Gund Arena to be renamed Quicken Loans Arena". ESPN.com. August 2, 2005. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
  3. ^ "Executive Bios and Directory". NBA.com. Cleveland Cavaliers. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  4. ^ Davis, Carolyn E. (February 25, 2005). "Usher About To Become Part-Owner Of Cleveland Cavaliers". MTV. Retrieved November 30, 2008.
  5. ^ a b "Bill Fitch Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  6. ^ a b "Lenny Wilkens Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  7. ^ a b "Chuck Daly Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  8. ^ a b c d "Top 10 Coaches in NBA History". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive. Archived from the original on January 19, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
  9. ^ a b c "Coach of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2008.
  10. ^ "Stan Albeck Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  11. ^ a b "Bill Musselman Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  12. ^ Musselman was fired 71 games into the 1980–81 season. Delaney served as interim head coach for the remaining eleven games and the first fifteen games of the 1981–82 season.
  13. ^ "Don Delaney Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  14. ^ Delaney was fired fifteen games into the 1981–82 season. Kloppenburg served as interim head coach for three games before being fired.
  15. ^ "Bob Kloppenburg Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  16. ^ Kloppenburg was fired after serving as interim head coach for three games in the 1981–82 season. Daly served as head coach for 41 games before being fired.
  17. ^ Daly was fired after serving as head coach for 41 games in the 1981–82 season. Musselman served as head coach for the remaining fifteen games.
  18. ^ "Tom Nissalke Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  19. ^ "George Karl Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  20. ^ Karl was fired 67 games into the 1985–86 season. Littles served as interim head coach for the remaining fifteen games.
  21. ^ "Gene Littles Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  22. ^ "Mike Fratello Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  23. ^ "Randy Wittman Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  24. ^ "John Lucas Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  25. ^ Lucas was fired 42 games into the 2002–03 season. Smart served as interim head coach for the remaining forty games.
  26. ^ "Keith Smart Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  27. ^ "Paul Silas Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  28. ^ Silas was fired 64 games into the 2004–05 season. Malone served as interim head coach for the remaining eighteen games.
  29. ^ "Brendan Malone Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  30. ^ a b "Mike Brown Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  31. ^ "Byron Scott Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  32. ^ Blatt was fired 41 games into the 2015–16 season. Lue served as head coach for the remaining 41 games.
  33. ^ "Tyronn Lue Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  34. ^ Lue was fired six games into the 2018–19 season. Drew served as interim head coach for the remaining 76 games.
  35. ^ Beilein resigned 54 games into the 2019–20 season. Bickerstaff served as head coach for the remaining 11 games before the season's suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  36. ^ "J.B. Bickerstaff Coaching Record". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  37. ^ "Daly, "Chuck" (Charles J.)". hickoksports.com. Archived from the original on February 23, 2002. Retrieved December 2, 2008.
  38. ^ "Chuck Daly Biography". Hit! Run! Score!, Inc. Archived from the original on September 22, 2008. Retrieved December 2, 2008.
  39. ^ Bill Nichols. "Activist Stepien Axes Daly, March 27, 1982". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved December 2, 2008.

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