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The level of coaching in the NBA has never been higher. The strategies in the game continue to evolve, as do the skill level of players on the court.
That makes the bar for a new coach to enter the league extremely high. There have been a ton of assistants that have been waiting for decades for their chance to sit in the head seat, along with former head coaches who want another shot to prove themselves. There’s a deep stable of candidates with impressive resumes.
Here are the ones that deserve a shot at the next head coaching job during the 2025 hiring cycle.
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Ranking best available NBA head coach candidates for 2025
1. Chris Quinn
Regular season record: n/a
Playoff record: n/a
Quinn isn’t a household name, but everyone knows him in NBA circles. He has playing experience, sticking around for six years as a try-hard role player. He transitioned into coaching with the Heat, where he’s worked for the last 11 years.
Quinn wasn’t gifted any of his roles. He started from the bottom, as a player development coach. He impressed Erik Spoelstra over his time with the team, eventually turning into Spo’s right-hand man. He has been the guy who takes over when Spoelstra is unavailable, such as two seasons ago when he helped guide the Heat to a 144-115 victory over the Hornets.
Quinn has gotten some buzz for head coaching positions previously. He interviewed with the Nets last summer and the Hornets twice. He should eventually get a job somewhere else and try to instill the lessons that he’s learned in working under one of the best coaches in the league.
2. Becky Hammon
Regular season record: n/a
Playoff record: n/a
Hammon was one of the best WNBA players of her generation and a Hall of Famer in that league. She’s continued that success as a coach, winning back-to-back WNBA championships for the Las Vegas Aces and being honored as the Coach of the Year in 2022.
Hammon also has NBA coaching experience, working as an assistant under Gregg Popovich for eight seasons. She was put in charge of the Spurs’ summer league team in 2015, winning the championship that year.
Hammon has been close to landing NBA jobs before. She had the backing of Damian Lillard in Portland and was a finalist for the opening back in 2021 before the Blazers ultimately went with Chauncey Billups.
Hammon seems happy coaching in the WNBA. If she were looking to actively move, she’d be no. 1 on this list. But WNBA coaching salaries pale in comparison to their NBA counterparts. If the price was right, maybe she could be enticed into leaving.
3. Terry Stotts
Regular season record: 517-486 (.515)
Playoff record: 23-44 (.343)
If you need proof of Stotts’ coaching chops, look at his resume with the Blazers. He had a ton of playoff success, making the postseason eight consecutive times and getting to the Conference Finals once. He’s a known quantity.
Stotts has also excelled since leaving that Blazers job. He’s working for as an assistant under Steve Kerr with the Warriors, and they have introduced many of his blocker-mover offensive concepts that made those Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum-led teams so hard to guard. The Warriors have experienced an offensive renaissance using those sets, and that should put Stotts back on the coaching market for a lead job.
4. Sam Cassell
Regular season record: n/a
Playoff record: n/a
Cassell lasted 15 years in the league as an undersized point guard due to his toughness and smarts. The basketball lifer parlayed that into an assistant coaching career that has spanned 15 years with the Wizards, Clippers, Sixers and Celtics.
In 2023, Cassell was named one of the best assistant coaches in the league in John Schuhmann’s annual GM survey, receiving seven percent of the vote. In 2024, Cassell topped that same list, earning 15 percent of the vote. He’s already gained some traction for head coaching positions — he was interviewed for the Rockets’ opening in 2023.
5. Dave Joerger
Regular season record: 245-247 (.498)
Playoff record: 9-13 (.409)
The biggest bullet on Joerger’s resume comes from his time with the Grizzlies. He led them to the playoffs in all three of his years there, although they never advanced past the second round.
Joerger wasn’t quite as successful in his second head coaching stint in Sacramento. The Kings failed to make the playoffs and finished below .500 for three straight years before he was fired. He went on to join Doc Rivers both in Philadelphia and Milwaukee as an assistant.
Joerger is known as a good coach who has had issues getting along with management in his previous stops.
6. James Borrego
Regular season record: 148-183 (.447)
Playoff record: 0-0
Borrego is known as a great tactician and had his Hornets team overachieving to 43 wins in his last season. They immediately tanked the next season, dropping to 27 wins under Steve Clifford.
Borrego ultimately lost that Charlotte job because the team could never clear that last hurdle to get into the playoffs. They were blown out of games in the Play-In Tournament twice. He deserves a second chance, though, particularly given how that franchise has collapsed after his departure.
Borrego does have championship experience — he won two rings as part of the Spurs staff with Popovich. He’s currently the associate head coach for the Pelicans.
7. Mike D’Antoni
Regular season record: 672-527 (.560)
Playoff record: 54-56 (.491)
D’Antoni’s offensive principles have been widely adapted around the league. He was a brilliant innovator who has won a ton of games with different teams.
He’s taken a step back since 2021 when he resigned from an assistant position with the dysfunctional Nets. He’s currently a coaching advisor for the Pelicans.
8. Mark Jackson
Regular season record: 121-109 (.526)
Playoff record: 9-10 (.474)
Jackson is still a prominent figure in the industry despite not coaching since 2014. The 17-year NBA veteran was one of the headiest point guards in the league during his playing days and helped build the foundation of the Warriors before being replaced by Steve Kerr.
Jackson does have his fair share of critics, though. His tenure with the Warriors was marred by numerous controversies, including turning the team against Festus Ezeli, having difficulty getting along with people in the organization and sparring with his assistants.
Jackson does have the backing of some of his former players, including Stephen Curry. Maybe some team would give him a second chance.
9. Micah Nori
Regular season record: n/a
Playoff record: n/a
Nori was tied with Cassell in the 2024 NBA general managers survey naming the best assistant coach in the league. He’s put in the time — he is in his 16th year of coaching, working for the Raptors, Kings, Nuggets, and Wolves over that time span. He’s a good defensive coach who has become somewhat infamous in Minnesota for his in-game interviews in which he clearly breaks down what the team is trying to do. Nori has developed his own child into a professional athlete as well — his son Dante plays baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies.
