Top 10 Highest Paid NBA Basketball Coaches

The NBA is considered one of the most popular sporting events in America. It is the nation’s highest-paid sport, Professional basketball players are highly compensated. Besides the players, the coaches of the team also got a lot of money. NBA coaches earn a large amount as a salary. Where player salaries are reported openly in the NBA, the highest-paid coaches are not covered publicly in the same way.

While they don’t come close to the max contract salaries, the top NBA coaches can swing a game. For the most part, though, it’s easy enough to guess which coaches earn the most money. They aren’t always leading the teams at the top of NBA odds, but they have experience and often a lot of postseason success.

Their involvement with schemes, rotations and timeouts is a factor to be aware of when making your betting decisions. Some reports of NBA head coach salaries have conflicting figures. For the most part, though, the highest-paid coaches in the league are agreed upon.

Here in this article, RNN will highlight the highest-paid NBA basketball coaches

10. Mike Budenholzer – $6 million

Michael Vincent Budenholzer born on August 6, 1969, is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before joining the Bucks, he spent five seasons as head coach of the Atlanta Hawks and 17 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, serving as an alternate video coordinator for the first two seasons and then as an assistant coach behind head coach Gregg Popovich. In 2021, Budenholzer coached the Bucks to their first NBA championship since 1971.

Before Mike Vincent becomes coach after college, he spent the 1993–94 season in Denmark, playing professionally for Vejle Basketball Klub, where he averaged a team-high 27.5 points per game while also serving as head coach for two teams of the club’s youth system. Previously, he had a “cup of coffee” playing for Pentland in the Scottish League.

9. Tyronn Lue – $6.5 million

Tyronn Lue born on May 3, 1977, is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also formerly served as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers helping them win their first finals in franchise history.

Lue graduated from Raytown Senior High School in Raytown, Missouri. Tyronn later attended the Univerity of Nebraska Lincoln where played basketball and studied sociology. He was a key number of the 1995-96 team that won the NIT, defeating St. Joseph’s in the final. He also finished his Cornhuskers career ranked third all-time in assists (432), fourth in three-pointers made (145) and attempted (407). Lue led Nebraska in assists in each of his three seasons and finished his career tied with Dave Hoppen for most games with 30 or more points (7). He declared for the NBA draft after his junior season.

8. Dwane Casey – $7 million

Dwane Lyndon Casey born April 17, 1957, is an American basketball coach who is the head coach for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a former NCAA basketball player and coach, having played and coached there for over a decade before moving on to the NBA. He was previously the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Toronto Raptors, with whom he won the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2018.

Casey’s coaching experience went back to his first coaching job at the age of 13 when Morganfield Baseball Commissioner Earl McKendree allowed the young Casey to coach a Little League team with kids just three years younger than him. He began his college coaching career in 1979 due to a suggestion made by his coach Joe B. Hall. Casey spent a season with Hall as an assistant coach at Kentucky.

7. Wes Unseld jr – $7.5 million

Unseld was born on September 20, 1975, and grew up in Catonsville, Maryland, is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). At a young age, he developed a close attachment to basketball; his father is Basketball Hall of Fame member Wes Unseld. From the age of five, he was in locker rooms with his father before games, and after drove home with him.

As an adult, he remembers “a great family atmosphere in the locker room”. He played high school basketball as a centre at Loyola Blakefield in Towson, Maryland. His skill set as a centre did not carry over to the backcourt, as he continued with college basketball for four years at Johns Hopkins University, graduating in 1997.

6. Nick Nurse – $8 million

Nicholas David Nurse born July 24, 1967, is an American professional basketball coach, author and former college basketball player. He is the head coach of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Canadian men’s national team. David became a player-coach for the Derby Rams in the British Basketball League during the 1990–91 season; following the 1990–91 season, Nurse never played professionally again, opting to pursue a full-time coaching career.

David got his first full-time head coaching job at Grand View University when he was only 23 years old; at the time, he was the youngest college basketball head coach in the country. He coached at Grand View for two seasons before taking on an assistant coaching role at the University of South Dakota for two seasons.

Nick later spent 11 seasons coaching in Europe, mostly in the British Basketball League (BBL). During that time, he won two BBL championships as a head coach, one with the Birmingham Bullets in 1996 and one with the Manchester Giants in 2000, while also helping London Towers in the Euroleague. He also won the BBL Coach of the Year Award in the 1999–2000 and 2003–04 seasons. He also coached for the Telindus Oostende of the Ethias League in 1998, as well as became an assistant coach for the Oklahoma Storm of the United States Basketball League in both 2001 and 2005.

5. Erik Spoelstra – $8.5 million

Erik Jon Spoelstra born November 1, 1970, is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has won two NBA championships as the head coach of the Heat. A Filipino American, Spoelstra is the first Asian-American head coach in the history of the four major North American sports leagues and the first Asian-American head coach to win an NBA title.

Spoelstra played college basketball with the Portland Pilots before playing professionally and coaching in Germany. He served as assistant coach and director of scouting for the Heat from 2001 to 2008, during which time the team won the 2006 NBA Finals. He was promoted to head coach in the 2008-09 season. Following the addition of free agents LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2010, the Heat made four consecutive NBA Finals appearances (2011–2014) under Spoelstra, winning the championship in 2012 and 2013. Spoelstra made his fifth appearance in the NBA Finals as head coach in 2020.

4. Steve Nash – $8.7 million

Stephen John Nash born February 7, 1974, is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 18 seasons in the NBA, where he was an eight-time All-Star and a seven-time All-NBA selection. Nash was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player while playing for the Phoenix Suns.

After a successful high school basketball career in British Columbia, Nash earned a scholarship to Santa Clara University in California. In his four seasons with the Broncos, the team made three NCAA tournament appearances, and he was twice named the West Coast Conference (WCC) Player of the Year. Nash graduated from Santa Clara as the team’s all-time leader in assists and was taken as the 15th pick in the 1996 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns. He had minimal impact and was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1998. By his fourth season with the Mavericks, he was voted to his first NBA All-Star Game and earned his first All-NBA selection. Together with Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley, Nash led the Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals the following season. He became a free agent after the 2003–04 season and returned to the Phoenix Suns.

3. Steve Kerr – $8.9 million

Stephen Douglas Kerr (born September 27, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a nine-time NBA champion, having won five titles as a player (three with the Chicago Bulls and two with the San Antonio Spurs) as well as four with the Warriors as a head coach. Kerr is the only NBA player to win four straight NBA titles after 1969.

Minimally recruited out of high school, Kerr played basketball at the University of Arizona from 1983 to 1988. In the summer of 1986, he was named to the U.S. national team that competed in the FIBA World Championship in Spain. It was the last American men’s senior squad composed strictly of amateur players to capture a gold medal. He blew out his knee in the tournament, forcing him to miss the Wildcats’ entire 1986–87 season.

2. Doc Rivers – $10 million

Doc Rivers born October 13, 1961, is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing for Marquette University for three seasons, Rivers was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association in 1983. He played point guard for the Hawks from 1983 to 1991 and later played for the Los Angeles Clippers, the New York Knicks, and the San Antonio Spurs. Rivers was an NBA All-Star in 1988.

In 1999, Rivers began his NBA coaching career when he was hired as head coach of the Orlando Magic. Rivers was named the 2000 NBA Coach of the Year in his first season with the Magic. Rivers went on to coach the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Philadelphia 76ers. He won an NBA championship in 2008 as head coach of the Celtics. Rivers began his coaching career with the Orlando Magic in 1999, where he coached for more than four NBA seasons. Rivers won the Coach of the Year award in 2000 after his first year with the Magic. Despite having been picked to finish last in that year’s standings, Rivers led the Magic close to a playoff berth.

1. Gregg Popovich – $11.5 million

Gregg Popovich born January 28, 1949, is an American professional basketball coach and executive who is the president and head coach of the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Taking over as coach of the Spurs in 1996, Popovich is the longest-tenured active coach in the NBA as well as all other major sports leagues in the United States. Often called “Coach Pop”, Popovich has the most wins of any coach in NBA history and is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history.

After graduating from Merrillville High School in 1966, Popovich attended the United States Air Force Academy. He played on the academy’s Air Force Falcons men’s basketball team, and in his senior year was the team’s captain and leading scorer. He graduated from the Academy in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in Soviet studies. Popovich underwent Air Force intelligence training and briefly considered a career with the Central Intelligence Agency.

Top 10 Highest-paid NBA Basketball Coach (infographics)