Top 5 Coaches Of The 2023 Season

5. Nick Nurse

Nick Nurse has been at the center of this Toronto Raptors team. Having won in 2019 against all odds, they managed to beat the Golden State Warriors in 6 games thanks to the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, and a growing Pascal Siakam.

Nick Nurse is known for his play design and fluid style of coaching. Having been let go by the Raptors at the end of the 2023 season, he is still a top 5 coach in our eyes, and I hope he can do much more in Philadelphia going forward.

4. Darwin Ham

Ham was not tasked with the easiest of jobs coming into the Lakers as head coach. Since winning a championship in 2020, the Lakers hadn't made a playoff appearance, losing in the play-in in 2021, and finishing 11th in 2022. The lack of actual players brought in because they fit the team was noticeable. It seemed as LeBron just called up friends from the past, recruiting Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Russel Westbrook, and Pat Bev in the following season. The Lakers just weren't "it".

Darvin Ham came with high expectations, coming from assistant coach positions with the Hawks and the Championship Bucks team until the 2022 off season. Although the Lakers had a poor start to the season, LeBron James and his coach managed to pull the right strings to achieve a comeback, which led them to a Conference Finals appearance.

3. Michael Malone

Of course we have to mention the NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets. Michael Malone came in in 2015 and established a culture in the city never seen before. Making good draft picks and trading for the right pieces, Michael Malone and the Nuggets have been patient, but hard work always pays off.

2. Erik Spoelstra

Erik Spoelstra is probably one of the best basketball coaches of all time, in fact he is the only coach in NBA history to win a coach of the year award as a .500 team (41-41 record). That was mostly due to the fact that the first half of the season the Heat went 10-31, to then have a 31-10 record in the second half, saving the Heat from falling from playoff contention.

This year wasn't that different from that as the Heat managed to pull off an all-time run to reach the NBA finals. Taking down the first seed Bucks, the very well rounded Knicks, and finally beating their rivals in the Boston Celtics, in Boston. What a way to go out. Of course Jimmy Butler was a pivotal player in this postseason as a natural born leader and proficient scorer for the team. But let's not forget who made it all possible, Erik Spoelstra.

1. Mike Brown

Last but not least, we have the Sacramento Kings head coach, Mike Brown. Mike Brown came in as a head coach in the 2022 off-season, but Mike's path to the Kings was filled with learning opportunities. He was assistant coach on multiple NBA teams: the Wizards, Spurs and Pacers from 1997-2005. In 2005 Brown got his first head coach assignment in Cleveland with a young LeBron James. He then headed to the Lakers for the 2011-2012 season and back to Cleveland the following season. After a poor season with the Cavs, Mike Brown took an assistant coach position next to Steve Kerr and the Warriors where he won 3 rings (2017, 2018, 2022).

After such a long career in basketball (both coaching and playing), he was ready for his next task as a head coach. The Kings acquired him in the 2022 off-season, which might have been the best move of the summer. Brown led the Kings to their first playoff appearance in 17 years, the longest playoff drought in NBA history. Not only did he bring the Kings to the playoffs, but he brought a culture unmatched in the League, in just a single season. Finishing 3rd in the west and winning a coach of the year award, he is the best coach on our list.