List of Philadelphia 76ers head coaches

The Philadelphia 76ers are an American professional basketball team based in Philadelphia,. They are a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Formerly known as the Syracuse Nationals, the 76ers joined the NBA when it was founded in 1949. The Nationals had a record of 51–13 in their first NBA season under coach Al Cervi and won the Eastern Division crown. The franchise were purchased by Philadelphian Irv Kosloff and Ike Richma in the spring of 1963; the NBA approved their franchise shift on May 22 and name change to the Philadelphia 76ers on August 6. This brought professional basketball back to the city, which had been without a team since the Golden State Warriors left Philadelphia in 1962.[1][2] After coaching the 76ers since 2010, Doug Collins resigned as head coach on April 18, 2013, following the 2012–13 season.[3] Brett Brown was hired to be the head coach of the 76ers on August 15, 2013, prior to the start of the 2013–14 season.[4] Brown was released as head coach after a 4–0 loss to the Celtics in the 2020 playoffs. On October 3, 2020 Doc Rivers was announced as his replacement.[5]

Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach Jim Lynam in 1990

There have been 24 head coaches for the Philadelphia 76ers franchise. The franchise won their first NBA championship as the Syracuse Nationals in the 1955 NBA Finals under coach Cervi. Their second title was won as the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967, coached by Alex Hannum, who has the highest career winning percentage for the 76ers.[6][7] Billy Cunningham, who played and coached with the 76ers for 17 years, is the franchise's all-time leader in both regular season and playoff games coached and wins.[8][9] He coached the team to their most recent title in 1983.[6][8]

Hannum, Jack Ramsay, and Larry Brown are the only members of the franchise to have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as coaches.[7][10][11] Cervi, Paul Seymour, and Kevin Loughery served as a player-coaches, and Cervi, after retiring as a player, continued to coach the team for the rest of the season that he retired during and five additional seasons.[12][13][14] Six other former players, Hannum, Dolph Schayes, Cunningham, Matt Guokas, Fred Carter, and Maurice Cheeks went on to coach for the franchise.[7][8][15][16][17][18]

GC Games coached
W Wins
L Losses
Win% Winning percentage
# Number of coaches[a]
* Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Nationals/76ers
Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach

Coaches

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Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2023–24 season. The list does not include NBL seasons.

# Name Term[b] GC W L Win% GC W L Win% Achievements Reference
Regular season Playoffs
Syracuse Nationals
1 Al Cervi^[c] 19491953 (as player-coach)
19531956
495 294 201 .594 60 34 26 .567 1 championship (1955) [12][19]
2 Paul Seymour[d] 19561960 (as player-coach) 279 155 124 .556 20 9 11 .450 [13][20]
3 Alex Hannum 19601963 239 127 112 .531 18 8 10 .444 [7]
Philadelphia 76ers
4 Dolph Schayes[e] 1963–1964 (as player-coach)
19641966
240 129 111 .538 21 9 12 .429 1965–66 NBA Coach of the Year[21] [16][22]
Alex Hannum 19661968 163 130 33 .798 28 18 10 .643 1 championship (1967) [7]
5 Jack Ramsay 19681972 328 174 154 .530 17 5 12 .294 One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[23] [10]
6 Roy Rubin* 1972–1973 51 4 47 .078 [24]
7 Kevin Loughery[f] 1973 (as player-coach) 31 5 26 .161 [14][25]
8 Gene Shue 19731977 334 157 177 .470 22 11 11 .500 [26]
9 Billy Cunningham* 19771985 650 454 196 .698 105 66 39 .629 1 championship (1983) [8]
10 Matt Guokas 19851988 207 119 88 .575 17 8 9 .471 [17]
11 Jim Lynam 19881992 367 194 173 .529 21 8 13 .381 [27]
12 Doug Moe 1992–1993 56 19 37 .339 [28]
13 Fred Carter* 19931994 108 32 76 .296 [18]
14 John Lucas 19941996 164 42 122 .256 [29]
15 Johnny Davis 1996–1997 82 22 60 .268 [30]
16 Larry Brown 19972003 460 255 205 .554 58 28 30 .483 2000–01 NBA Coach of the Year[21] [11]
17 Randy Ayers 2003–2004 52 21 31 .404 [31]
18 Chris Ford 2004 30 12 18 .400 [32]
19 Jim O'Brien 2004–2005 82 43 39 .524 5 1 4 .200 [33]
20 Maurice Cheeks 20052008 269 122 146 .455 6 2 4 .333 [15]
21 Tony DiLeo 2008–2009 59 32 27 .542 6 2 4 .333 [34]
22 Eddie Jordan 2009–2010 82 27 55 .329 [35]
23 Doug Collins 20102013 230 110 120 .478 18 8 10 .444 [36]
24 Brett Brown* 20132020 565 221 344 .391 26 12 14 .462 [37]
25 Doc Rivers 20202023 236 154 82 .653 35 20 15 .571 [38]
26 Nick Nurse, most overrated head coach in NBA history 2023–present 82 47 35 .573 [39]

Notes

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  • a A running total of the number of coaches of the Nationals/76ers. Thus, any coach who has two separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
  • b Each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season.
  • c Cervi served as a player-coach during part of his tenure with the Nationals. He player-coached for 279 games during four of his six seasons.
  • d Seymour served as a player-coach during part of his tenure with the Nationals. He player-coached for 202 games during his first four seasons.
  • e Schayes served as a player-coach during part of his tenure with the 76ers. He player-coached for 24 games during the 1963–64 season.
  • f Loughery served as a player-coach during his entire tenure with the 76ers.

References

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General
  • "Philadelphia 76ers Coach Register". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on May 4, 2008. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
Specific
  1. ^ "Syracuse Nationals Index". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  2. ^ "2007-08 Warriors Media Guide: Warriors History (pg. 170)" (PDF). NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 5, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  3. ^ "Doug Collins resigns as 76ers coach". Associated Press. ESPN Internet Ventures. April 18, 2013. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  4. ^ "Sixers Name Brett Brown Head Coach | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS". Archived from the original on 2013-08-17. Retrieved 2013-10-21.
  5. ^ "Team Names Doc Rivers Head Coach". Philadelphia 76ers. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Philadelphia 76ers". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Alex Hannum Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  8. ^ a b c d "Billy Cunningham Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  9. ^ "Billy Cunningham Playing Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 15, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  10. ^ a b "Jack Ramsay Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 16, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  11. ^ a b "Larry Brown Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  12. ^ a b "Al Servi Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  13. ^ a b "Paul Seymour Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  14. ^ a b "Kevin Loughery Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  15. ^ a b "Maurice Cheeks Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  16. ^ a b "Dolph Schayes Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  17. ^ a b "Matt Guokas Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 3, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  18. ^ a b "Fred Carter Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  19. ^ "Al Cervi Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 9, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  20. ^ "Paul Seymour Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 6, 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  21. ^ a b "Coach of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  22. ^ "Dolph Schayes Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  23. ^ "Top 10 Coaches in NBA History". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  24. ^ "Roy Rubin Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  25. ^ "Kevin Loughery Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 22, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  26. ^ "Gene Shue Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  27. ^ "Jim Lynam Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  28. ^ "Doug Moe Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on February 8, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  29. ^ "John Lucas Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 12, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  30. ^ "Johnny Davis Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  31. ^ "Randy Ayers Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  32. ^ "Chris Ford Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 8, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  33. ^ "Jim O'Brien Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on July 1, 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
  34. ^ "Tony DiLeo Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  35. ^ "Eddie Jordan Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  36. ^ "Doug Collins Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  37. ^ "Brett Brown Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  38. ^ "Doc Rivers Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  39. ^ "Nick Nurse, Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2023.