7 NBA Coaches Who Made A Huge Impact In Just One Season

by Jeremy Block - 5/5/2025

NBA coaches that made impact in one season Jason Kidd

NBA coaching isn’t exactly a job known for stability. Most guys are hired to be fired, and some barely finish their first year before getting tossed like a broken clipboard. But every once in a while, a coach steps in, and in just one season, flips the script entirely. Whether it’s changing the culture, unlocking a star, or dragging a mediocre roster into deep playoff waters, their impact is loud, fast, and undeniable.

This list isn’t about long resumes or lifetime achievement awards. These are the seven coaches who walked through the door, made their mark immediately, and left everyone asking, “Where the hell did that come from?

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Larry Bird – Indiana Pacers, 1997–98

Most guys make their coaching debut with a clipboard and a hope. Larry Bird rolled in with no coaching experience and somehow led the Pacers to 58 wins and the Eastern Conference Finals in his first try. The team had talent, sure, but Bird gave them structure, toughness, and just enough old-school scowl to make them play like grown men.

The Pacers had flailed under Larry Brown before Bird took over and somehow made everything click. He simplified the offense, empowered Reggie Miller, and brought out the best in a roster that had been underachieving for years. And the cherry on top? He won Coach of the Year, then left after three seasons like, “Yeah, that’s enough.” The man treated coaching like a weekend project — and still crushed it.

Steve Kerr – Golden State Warriors, 2014–15

Before Steve Kerr showed up, the Warriors were good. Then Kerr walked in, told them to pass more, shoot more 3-pointers and trust their spacing — and suddenly they were unstoppable. The team jumped from 51 to 67 wins and won the whole thing. Not bad for a rookie coach who spent most of the previous decade behind a TNT microphone.

What Kerr did wasn’t just cosmetic. He unlocked the full Steph Curry experience, let Draymond Green run wild, and gave Klay Thompson the green light from 30+ feet. The offense flowed like water, the defense was unified, and everyone seemed to actually like showing up to work. Mark Jackson planted the seeds, sure, but Kerr brought the rain.

Tom Thibodeau – Chicago Bulls, 2010–11

When Tom Thibodeau took over the Bulls, he was there to make guys run through defensive drills until their lungs gave out. That first year, the Bulls went from scrappy to scary, winning 62 games and locking down the No. 1 seed in the East. Sure, Derrick Rose won MVP, but suddenly Chicago was back in the conversation.

Thibodeau didn’t just preach defense, he demanded it like it was a moral code. And somehow, the players bought in. Luol Deng played 48 minutes nightly like it was normal, Joakim Noah became a menace, and Rose blossomed into a superstar under the weight of Thibodeau’s intense guidance.

Paul Westhead – Los Angeles Lakers, 1979–80

Taking over midseason usually means damage control. Paul Westhead took over the Showtime Lakers after Jack McKinney’s biking accident and casually led them to an NBA title. Rookie Magic Johnson ended up playing center in the Finals, but it was Westhead who put everything into motion.

Look Westhead wasn’t an Xs-and-Os wizard, but he let the Lakers run, leaned into their talent, and stayed out of the way just enough to let Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar take over. It was one of the strangest coaching success stories ever, but it worked. And hey, when your rookie year ends with a championship ring, you’re allowed to flex a little.

Nick Nurse – Toronto Raptors, 2018–19

On paper, promoting an assistant coach to replace Dwane Casey (who had just won Coach of the Year) seemed like a classic “Uh, good luck” move. But Nick Nurse had other plans. He unleashed a freakishly flexible defense, leaned hard on Kawhi Leonard’s robot-like efficiency, and somehow steered the Raptors to their first-ever championship.

Nurse wasn’t afraid to mix things up — zone, man, full-court press, whatever it took. He trusted Pascal Siakam to grow up fast, made Kyle Lowry a tone-setter, and treated playoff adjustments like a mad scientist in a lab. Like him or not, Nurse outcoached some of the best minds in the league on the way to securing an NBA title in his first year as head coach.

Doc Rivers – Orlando Magic, 1999–2000

Doc Rivers started his head coaching career with a team that, on paper, should’ve been lottery-bound. The Magic had no true star, just a mishmash of role players and question marks. Somehow, Rivers led the team to 41 wins and had them in playoff contention until the final week.

His reward? Coach of the Year. With Darrell Armstrong as his lead guard and Bo Outlaw doing Bo Outlaw things, Rivers squeezed every drop of effort out of that roster. He kept them scrappy, competitive, and way more entertaining than they had any right to be. That first year put him on the map and proved he wasn’t just a smooth talker from his broadcasting days.

Jason Kidd – Brooklyn Nets, 2013–14

Things didn’t exactly start smoothly for Jason Kidd at the helm of the Brooklyn Nets. He infamously "accidentally" spilled a drink to buy his team an extra timeout — but by the end of his rookie season, he had pulled a messy, veteran-heavy roster into the second round of the playoffs. Not bad for a guy who had retired as a player just a year earlier.

All in all, the Nets started slow, then turned things around after Kidd moved to a small-ball lineup with Paul Pierce at the four. He got creative, leaned on his basketball IQ, and kept his squad from totally imploding after a brutal start. It wasn’t perfect, but it showed that Kidd had some real coaching chops hiding under those endless blank stares and awkward postgame quotes.
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Start:	May 5, 2025 @ 11:59 PM
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7 NBA Coaches Who Made A Huge Impact In Just One Season

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