In the history of the NBA, there have been over 350 head coaches, and among all these coaches, there has never been an individual who exerted a greater influence on the shape of professional basketball than one Arnold “Red” Auerbach.
Auerbach’s legacy is not just the championships that he won as a coach and as a general manager; it’s the influence that his players have had on the game, as they became coaches themselves, and as they mentored players and assistant coaches.
When Red passed away in October,
2006, the Boston Globe published a coaching tree which showed that 23 of the league’s 30 coaches could trace their lineage back to Auerbach.
Rather than dwindling away over the past twenty years, Auerbach’s coaching tree is as robust as ever. Today, 28 of the 30 coaches in the NBA can trace their lineage back to Red Auerbach, with many having multiple paths back to the Celtics legend.
It has been over sixty years since Red coached his last game, and almost twenty years since he passed away.
So why has his coaching tree thrived? In part because Red had a habit of acquiring smart players who turned into successful coaches themselves. Four players coached by Red Auerbach went on to win NBA titles as coaches themselves (Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, Tommy Heinsohn and KC Jones), with a fifth, Don Nelson, coaching 2,398 games. In the 69 years since Red Auerbach won his first title in 1957, he and members of his coaching tree have accounted for 40 of the championships awarded during that span.
Going back to coaches active in 1966, Red’s last year on the bench, only Alex Hannum and Fred Schaus can claim coaching trees of any magnitude in today’s NBA, and for both of them, this is because they coached Larry Brown, who, through Gregg Popovich, has had a massive impact on coaching in the NBA. Today, Gregg Popovich has connections to thirteen NBA coaches, which is an impressive achievement for a coach who has only been retired for a couple years.
For Schaus, the only branch active today is the Popovich connection through Larry Brown, and for Alex Hannum, there are only two branches active: His connection through Larry Brown and his connection through Pat Riley.
On the other hand, Red’s coaching tree has impacted the NBA through five distinct branches. Coaches that can trace their roots back to Bill Sharman, K.C. Jones, Tommy Heinsohn, Bob Cousy and Don Nelson can be found on NBA sidelines today.
Note: to conserve space and minimize redundancy, full lineages to Red are only given once for each coach in the narrative below.
Atlanta Hawks: Quin Snyder was an assistant for Mike Brown. Mike Brown was an assistant to Rick Carlisle, who played for KC Jones, who played for Red Auerbach. Snyder was also an assistant to Mike Budenholzer, who was an assistant to Gregg Popovich, who was an assistant to Don Nelson, who played for both Tommy Heinsohn and Red Auerbach.
Boston Celtics: Joe Mazzulla was an assistant to Ime Udoka, who both played for and was an assistant to Gregg Popovich.
Brooklyn Nets: Jordi Fernandez was an assistant to Mike Brown
Charlotte Hornets: Charles Lee was an assistant to Mike Budenholzer, as well as Joe Mazzulla.
Chicago Bulls: Tiago Splitter played for, and was an assistant under Gregg Popovich
Cleveland Cavaliers: Kenny Atkinson was an assistant to Mike D’Antoni, who played for Bob Cousy, who played for Red Auerbach.
Dallas Mavericks: Dusty May – No connections to Red Auerbach
Denver Nuggets: David Adelman was an assistant for Michael Malone, who was an assistant under Don Chaney, who played for Tommy Heinsohn, who played for Red Auerbach
Detroit Pistons: J.B. Bickerstaff was an assistant under his dad, who was an assistant for KC Jones with the Washington Wizards. He was also an assistant to Kevin McHale, who played for KC Jones.
Golden State Warriors: Steve Kerr played for Gregg Popovich
Houston Rockets: Ime Udoka played for, and was an assistant under Gregg Popovich
Indiana Pacers: Rick Carlisle, who is the longest tenured coach currently active in the NBA.
Los Angeles Clippers: Tyronn Lue was an assistant under Doc Rivers, who played for Pat Riley, who played for Bill Sharman, who played for Red Auerbach.
Los Angeles Lakers: JJ Redick played for both Doc Rivers and Stan Van Gundy. Stan was an assistant under Pat Riley.
Memphis Grizzlies: Tuomas Iisalo was an assistant to Taylor Jenkins who was an assistant under Mike Budenholzer
Miami Heat: Erik Spoelstra was an assistant to Pat Riley
Minnesota Timberwolves: Chris Finch was assistant under Kevin McHale, as well as being an assistant under Michael Malone.
New Orleans Pelicans: Jamahl Mosley was an assistant under Rick Carlisle
New York Knicks: Mike Brown, who was an assistant under both Rick Carlisle and Gregg Popovich.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Mark Daigneault – Has no connection to Red Auerbach
Orlando Magic: Sean Sweeney was an assistant under Dwane Casey who was himself an assistant with Rick Carlisle.
Philadelphia 76ers: Nick Nurse was also an assistant under Dwane Casey.
Phoenix Suns: Jordan Ott was an assistant under Kenny Atkinson
Portland Trail Blazers: Micah Nori is connected to Red Auerbach through Dwane Casey, Michael Malone, and Chris Finch
Sacramento Kings: Doug Christie was an assistant to Mike Brown
San Antonio Spurs: Mitch Johnson was an assistant to Gregg Popovich
Toronto Raptors: Darko Rajakovic was an assistant to Taylor Jenkins
Utah Jazz: Will Hardy was an assistant to Ime Udoka as well as Gregg Popovich
Washington Wizards: Brian Keefe was an assistant under Luke Walton, who was an assistant under Steve Kerr.
