What are the bottom head coaches in the NBA and how are their grades?

In the NBA, "bottom head coaches" usually refer to coaches who have a long-term poor coaching record, low team competitiveness, and are considered to have obvious shortcomings in tactical arrangement, on-site adjustments, player development or team culture. When judging, objective factors such as team lineup talent, management support, and injury situations need to be combined, but it is true that some coaches find it difficult to deliver qualified answers in multiple environments.

The following are the head coach representatives who have been mentioned or questioned in recent years or history and their performances (Note: Evaluation is time-sensitive and subjective):

🟠 The coach representatives of the "bottom" who have been questioned in recent years

Luke Walton

coaching experience: Lakers (2016-2019), Kings (2019-2021).

Results:

Lakers: Coached for three years, with a total record of 98 wins and 148 losses (win rate of 39.8%), and did not enter the playoffs. Although it is in the reconstruction period (training Ingram, Ball Brother, etc.), the team's offense and defense are chaotic, lack of a system, and on-the-spot adjustments are often criticized.

Kings: coached for more than two seasons, with a total record of 68 wins and 93 losses (win rate of 42.2%), and did not enter the playoffs. He has talents such as Fox, Hilder, and Barnes, but the team's defensive efficiency is always at the bottom of the year, his tactics are unclear, and his atmosphere in the locker room is not good. He was eventually fired.

Evaluation: It is believed that there is a lack of a clear tactical system (especially the defensive end), slow response on the spot, failed to convert young talents into victory, and ended in failure in both different teams.

Wes Unseld Jr.

coaching experience: Washington Wizards (2021-2024).

Results: Total record of 77 wins and 130 losses (win rate of 37.2%). In the 2021-22 season, he only entered the playoffs with Bill's outstanding performance and Dinwiddie/Kuzma (who did not make the playoffs in the end), and the rest of the seasons were lottery teams. At the beginning of the 2023-24 season, he was considered to be competitive in the lineup (Pole, Kuzma, Jones, Avdia, etc.), but he scored a record at the bottom of the league (especially a defensive collapse).

Evaluation: The team's defensive system is ineffective (the defensive efficiency is in the long run), the offense lacks organization and stability, and fails to stimulate the player's potential (especially Poole's performance has declined sharply), and the locker room atmosphere is negative. He was regarded as one of the main responsible persons for the long-term downturn of the Wizards and was eventually fired.

JB Bickerstaff - Early stage coaching experience: Grizzlies (2017-2019 Temporary regularization), Cavaliers (2020-2024).

Controversial Point:

Grizzlies: The time to take over was a reconstruction period, and the poor record was understandable, but the coaching style and on-the-spot questioned.

Cavaliers early (2020-2022): The team is in a deep reconstruction in the post-James era, and poor record (such as 22 wins and 50 losses in the 2020-21 season) is expected.

Why is

regarded as a "baby" by some people? After the Cavaliers had core frameworks such as Garland, Mobley, Allen, although they entered the play-offs in 2022-23, the 2023-24 season had a much lower record than expected (in the end, 48 wins and 34 losses, but they struggled for a while in the middle of the season), problems such as inefficient offensive efficiency, overly relying on singles for star players, and slow adjustments on the spot were exposed. Although he eventually made it to the playoffs, his coaching ability has been widely questioned during the season. (Note: Bikstaff's situation is complicated, leading the team into the playoffs has helped him get out of the typical "bottom", but the problems exposed in the process have made him often included in the discussion during the trough period)

Stephen Silas

Coaching experience: Houston Rockets (2020-2023).

Results: The total record is 59 wins and 177 losses (win rate 25.0%), and the league is at the bottom of the league for three consecutive years.

Objective factors: Harden had left the team when he took over, the team was completely rebuilt, and he used a lot of rookies (Green, Shin Kyung, Smith, etc.), and his lineup talent and experience were seriously lacking. Why is

questioned? It is believed that there is a lack of a clear training plan and tactical system, the team's offense and defense are extremely chaotic (especially the defense is at the bottom for a long time), young players make slow progress (such as Green's inefficiency), and weak sense of presence on-the-spot command. Reconstruction is the main reason, but the coaching ability it demonstrates fails to give people confidence.

Nate Bjorkgren

Coaching experience: Indiana Pacers (2020-2021 Season 1 only).

Results: 34 wins and 38 losses (win rate 47.2%), barely entered the playoffs but was eliminated.

Why is the "football" case? The record is not the worst, but the complete collapse of the locker room is a sign of it. Relations with players (such as Sabonis, LeVer, etc.), assistant coaches and even management are tense, and communication methods are strongly dissatisfied, tactical chaos, and they are considered to have completely lost control of the team. Being fired after one season is a typical "failed experiment".

The famous "bottom" coaching case in history

Isiah Thomas

coaching experience: Indiana Pacers (2000-2003), New York Knicks (2006-2008).

Results and Evaluation:

Pacers: It is still acceptable in the early stage (bringing into the playoffs), but the locker room is out of control in the later stage, and the record is down and it is hyped.

Knicks: Disaster-level performance. The total record is 56 wins and 108 losses (win rate is 34.1%). The team was in chaos, with no system of offense and defense, with many conflicts in the locker room (with Marbury, etc.), and there were constant off-field disputes. Considered as one of the representatives of the Knicks' Dark Age.

Randy Wittman

Coaching experience: Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Wizards and many other teams.

Evaluation: Famous for its extremely conservative, outdated and incredible offensive tactics. The team coached has always been at the bottom of the offensive efficiency, and the tactical board has been ridiculed as "Mid Range, Mid Range, Mid Range" (mid-range jump shot). Although the Wizards relied on Wall/Bill's personal ability to enter the second round in the later stages, the barrenness of the offensive end is its distinctive label.

Kurt Rambis

coaching experience: Lakers (temporary), Timberwolves (2009-2011), Knicks (temporary).

Timberwolves period: The total record is 32 wins and 132 losses (the winning rate is only 19.5%). The team is uncompetitive, and both offense and defense are abolished. It is considered to have no idea of ​​building a team and ability to play on the spot.

📌 Important note

Reconstruction period and lineup talent: Many coaches take over teams that clearly play badly and rebuild (such as Silas' Rockets). The lineup talent is extremely poor, and losing is the goal of the management. When evaluating this type of coach, you should look at the development of young players, the establishment of the system, and the team culture, rather than simply winning the game. Silas also has a low evaluation in this regard.

Management and Injuries: Poor management decisions (such as Thomas having multiple positions in the Knicks), long-term injuries to core players (such as Pistons and Hornets in some seasons) can also greatly affect the performance, and the coach is sometimes the "burden".

The liquidity of the "Big Bottom" label: Some coaches are bass in a certain environment, and they may succeed in changing the environment (such as Tyron Lu was also questioned before the Cavaliers). On the contrary, a good coach may also appear powerless under extremely unfavorable conditions (like Monty Williams' miserable start at the Pistons).

Subjectivity: "Badfish" is a very negative label, usually combining long-term poor record, lack of visible progress, chaotic on-field performance and locker room issues. Fans and media comments sometimes ignore objective difficulties.

📍 Summary:

The "bottom coaches" that are often mentioned in recent years include Luke Walton, Wes Unselder Jr., Stephen Silas, etc. The team's record has been at the bottom for a long time during their coaching period and has shown obvious flaws in building a system, on-site command, player development or managing the locker room. There are famous cases such as Isia Thomas (Knicks era), Randy Whitman, and Cot Lambis in history.

To determine whether a coach is a "bottom", we need to comprehensively consider his coaching record (especially winning rate), the system level reflected in the team's offensive and defensive efficiency, player development, locker room atmosphere, and the objective environment (lineup, injury, management). A simple victory is not necessarily a coaching issue, but there is no hope in the long run, the team is disorganized and has no rules, which is often a sign of a "bottom coach".