Gregg Popovich and NBA all-time wins list: Spurs legend surpasses Don Nelson

Kyle Irving

Gregg Popovich and NBA all-time wins list: Spurs legend surpasses Don Nelson image

On Dec. 14, 1996 the San Antonio Spurs beat the Dallas Mavericks 106-105 in a game that at the time held little significance. David Robinson made the game-winner with eight seconds left on a feed from Avery Johnson as the Spurs improved to 4-17 and gave a then 47-year-old Gregg Popovich his first career win as a head coach.

26 years and over 1,300 wins later, Popovich has passed Hall of Famer Don Nelson on the NBA's all-time wins list.

Nelson tallied 1,335 wins over 2,398 regular season games. Following Friday's win over the Jazz, Popovich sits on 1,336 wins in 2,030 regular season games.

Popovich needed fewer than 300 games to reach Nelson's win total, which speaks volumes of his success as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history.

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Most all-time wins by a head coach in NBA history

Below, you can find the complete top 10 for the head coaches with the most wins in NBA history.

Popovich's .658 win percentage ranks sixth all-time among coaches with more than three seasons, ranking behind only Phil Jackson, Billy Cunningham, Steve Kerr, K.C. Jones, and Red Auerbach.

Top 10 winningest coaches in NBA history
Rank Name Seasons Wins Win Pct.
1. Gregg Popovich 26 1,336 .658
2. Don Nelson 31 1,335 .557
3. Lenny Wilkens 32 1,332 .536
4. Jerry Sloan 26 1,221 .603
5. Pat Riley 24 1,210 .636
6. George Karl 27 1,175 .588
7. Phil Jackson 20 1,155 .704
8. Larry Brown 26 1,098 .548
9. Rick Adelman 23 1,042 .582
10. Doc Rivers 23 1,032 .586

Bold indicates active head coach.

Most career wins by active NBA head coaches

Popovich and Rivers are the only two active head coaches in the top-10 for all-time wins.

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Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle (15th all-time, 858 wins), Hawks head coach Nate McMillan (18th, 719 wins) and Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra (24th, 651 wins) are the next three active head coaches who could eventually crack the top 10.

The active coach with the best shot at someday catching Popovich might be Spoelstra.

Spoelstra took over in Miami when he was 38 years old, a full 10 years sooner than Popovich in San Antonio. Now 51, Spoelstra has 651 wins. Popovich had just 163 wins by the end of his age-51 season.

Most wins among active NBA head coaches
Rank Name Wins All-Time Age
1. Gregg Popovich 1,336 T-1st 73
2. Doc Rivers 1,032 10th 60
3. Rick Carlisle 858 15th 62
4. Nate McMillan 719 18th 57
5. Erik Spoelstra 651 24th 51
6. Alvin Gentry 528 31st 67
7. Dwane Casey 472 38th 64
8. Frank Vogel 426 46th 48
T-9. Steve Kerr 421 T-50th 56
T-9. Tom Thibodeau 421 T-50th 64

Most all-time playoff wins by a head coach

While Popovich is set to become the all-time winningest head coach during the regular season, he's still looking up at a pair of icons when it comes to the postseason.

Both Phil Jackson and Pat Riley have more playoff wins though Popovich could pass Riley if the Spurs make it into the first round and win a few games.

Popovich has five NBA titles, tied with Riley and John Kundla for the third-most in NBA history trailing Jackson (11) and Red Auerbach (9)

Top 10 winningest coaches in NBA playoff history
Rank Name Wins Win Pct NBA titles
1. Phil Jackson 229 .688 11
2. Pat Riley 171 .606 5
3. Gregg Popovich 170 .599 5
4. Larry Brown 100 .518 1
5. Red Auerbach 99 .589 9
T6. Doc Rivers 98 .510 1
T6. Jerry Sloan 98 .485 0
8. Erik Spoelstra 85 .594 2
9. K.C. Jones 81 .587 2
T10. Lenny Wilkens 80 .449 1
T10. George Karl 80 .432 0

Gregg Popovich bio, record, stats

  • NBA head coaching debut: Dec. 10, 1996
  • Age: 73
  • Seasons: 26
  • Playoff appearances: 22
  • Regular season record: 1,336-694
  • Playoff record: 170-114
  • NBA championships: 5
  • Coach of the Year awards: 3x (2003, 2012, 2014)

Kyle Irving

Kyle Irving Photo

You read that wrong – not Kyrie Irving. From Boston, graduated from the University of New Hampshire. Sixth season as a content producer for NBA.com's Global editions. Covering the NBA Draft has become his annual "dream come true" moment on the job. Irving has a soft spot for pass-first point guards, with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash being two of his favorite players of all time.