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NBA Coaches Who Were Better Players

by Jeremy Block - 7/25/2025

NBA coaches who were better players Doc Rivers

Being a former player doesn’t automatically make someone a great coach. It usually just means they’ve been around long enough to fake a convincing gameplan and know how to survive a film session without putting anyone to sleep. The league is full of former players who were brought in as a head coach, because they once had a reliable jumper or played next to someone who did. 

In some cases, the coaching part was fine. A couple playoff runs here, a few lottery teams there. But the playing careers? That’s where it actually meant something. Here are seven NBA coaches who were better players.

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Doc Rivers

Long before yelling instructions from the sidelines, Rivers was a scrappy point guard who made his mark with leadership and solid defense. During the 1987-88 season, he averaged 14.2 points and 9.3 assists, earning an All-Star selection that proved he belonged with the league’s better floor generals at that time. Rivers was far from an exciting player to watch, but he knew how to control the tempo and make his teammates better.

While his coaching resume includes a 2008 Celtics championship win, Rivers’ legacy as a player still stands taller. Fun fact: he’s the only NBA coach to lose three playoff series after leading 3-1, which highlights just how short his coaching falls in comparison to his playing career. 

Jason Kidd

Few players combined court vision, shot-making, and playmaking like Jason Kidd. A ten-time All-Star, he consistently ranked near the top in assists and steals, transforming every team he played for. Kidd was a magician running offenses and an annoying pest on defense, averaging over 8 assists and nearly 2 steals per game for the majority of his career—numbers that say everything about his impact on the floor.

His coaching story? It hasn’t lived up to the impact he had as a player. Kidd showed promise at times but never quite reached the elite level he set on the court. Consistency and deep playoff runs stayed out of reach. And even with his obvious basketball IQ, turning that into effective rotation management and game plans is still a work in progress.

Kevin McHale

There weren’t many players who could dominate the post like Kevin McHale did in the ’80s and early ’90s. Even on a Celtics team loaded with scoring options, it was McHale’s footwork, fadeaways, and relentless rebounding that carried a big chunk of the load in their three title runs. He averaged nearly 18 points and 733 rebounds a night—not exactly role player numbers. 

But when he got into coaching, the results were fine, but nowhere close to what he did as a player. His teams were competitive but never hit the level people expected. McHale wrapped up his coaching run with a 41% playoff winning percentage and just barely cleared .500 (55%) in the regular season. Not quite the same impact he had when he was wrecking teams in the post for the Celtics.

Derek Fisher

There was a stretch in the mid-2000s when Derek Fisher was one of the most respected role players in the league. Over 18 seasons, he won five championships and appeared in 241 playoff games. Yes, he may have averaged just under 9 points per game in his career, but his real impact came from clutch shots, smart decisions, and leadership alongside Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.

As a coach, things didn’t pan out the same way. Fisher lasted just two seasons with the Knicks, winning just 40 games, and finishing with a 29% winning percentage. After that, Fisher had a brief stint coaching in the WNBA, which didn't help his coaching resume either, and he eventually he ended up coaching high school basketball in California. Talk about a fall for a player once known as one of the league’s most reliable floor generals.

Paul Silas

Rebounding and physicality defined Paul Silas’ playing career. He snagged over 12,000 rebounds across 16 seasons, playing a crucial role in three championship-winning teams. Silas was never the ‘main highlight player’ but his physicality and work ethic made him the anchor of every team he was on, giving coaches a defensive backbone they could count on.

His coaching career, on the other hand, reflected the same steady style but lacked the big moments. He developed young players and provided leadership, but his teams never came close to elite status, finishing with just a 31% regular-season winning percentage and an 11-12 record in the playoffs. 

Byron Scott

Speed and shooting. That’s what Byron Scott brought to the table during his playing days, and it paid off. He won three NBA championships while shooting over 48% from the floor, having a key role as a role player on those Showtime Lakers teams.

Coaching, however, didn’t come as easily. Sure, he had a couple of solid runs with the New Jersey Nets, helping them reach the NBA Finals twice. But let’s be real—they had a solid roster, and Scott didn’t exactly have to carry the load. Outside of that, his teams mostly struggled, posting losing records in several seasons and finishing his coaching career with just a 41% winning percentage.

Isiah Thomas

Not many point guards dominated like Isiah Thomas did in his prime. Two rings, a Finals MVP, and a dozen All-Star selections don’t happen by accident. He showed up when it counted, averaging just shy of a double-double on his career and led the Pistons through some of the toughest playoff battles of the ‘80s.

Unfortunately, his coaching career didn’t match his success as a player. Over two head coaching stints with the Pacers and Knicks, Thomas finished above .500 in just three of his five seasons. Playoffs? Yeah, that wasn’t barely a thing—he went 5-10 in the postseason. Look, Thomas is still a legend as a player, but as a coach? That status didn’t carry over.

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