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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

List Of Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coaches
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. The Cavaliers have played their home games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, formerly known as Quicken Loans Arena and Gund Arena, since 1994. The Cavaliers are owned by Dan Gilbert, with Koby Altman as their general manager. American R&B-pop singer Usher Raymond is a minority owner.

There have been 24 head coaches for the Cavaliers franchise. The current head coach is Kenny Atkinson. 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); 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. Fitch, Daly and Wilkens were also named as 3 of the top 10 coaches in NBA history. Fitch and Brown are the only Cavaliers coaches to have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award.

Key

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

Coaches

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

# Name Term 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
One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history
2 Stan Albeck 1979–1980 82 37 45 .451 — — — —
3 Bill Musselman 1980–1981 71 25 46 .352 — — — —
4 Don Delaney* 1981 26 7 19 .269 — — — —
5 Bob Kloppenburg 1981 3 0 3 .000 — — — —
6 Chuck Daly† 1981–1982 41 9 32 .220 — — — — One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history
— Bill Musselman 1982 23 2 21 .087 — — — —
7 Tom Nissalke 1982–1984 164 51 113 .311 — — — —
8 George Karl† 1984–1986 149 61 88 .409 4 1 3 .250
9 Gene Littles 1986 15 4 11 .267 — — — —
10 Lenny Wilkens† 1986–1993 574 316 258 .551 41 18 23 .439 One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history
11 Mike Fratello 1993–1999 460 248 212 .539 14 2 12 .143
12 Randy Wittman 1999–2001 164 62 102 .378 — — — —
13 John Lucas 2001–2003 124 37 87 .298 — — — —
14 Keith Smart 2003 40 9 31 .225 — — — —
15 Paul Silas 2003–2005 146 69 77 .473 — — — —
16 Brendan Malone 2005 18 8 10 .444 — — — —
17 Mike Brown 2005–2010 410 272 138 .663 71 42 29 .592 Eastern Conference championship (2007)
2008–09 NBA Coach of the Year
18 Byron Scott 2010–2013 230 64 166 .278 — — — —
— Mike Brown 2013–2014 82 33 49 .402 — — — —
19 David Blatt* 2014–2016 113 83 40 .675 20 14 6 .700 Eastern Conference championship (2015)
20 Tyronn Lue 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
21 Larry Drew 2018–2019 76 19 57 .250 — — — —
22 John Beilein* 2019–2020 54 14 40 .259 — — — —
23 J. B. Bickerstaff 2020–2024 329 170 159 .517 17 6 11 .353
24 Kenny Atkinson 2024–present 0 0 0 – — — — —
  • 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.
  • 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.