Gregg Popovich passes Phil Jackson on all-time wins list for head coaches
Move aside, Zen Master.
The San Antonio Spurs pulled out a convincing 112-95 victory over the Phoenix Suns at the AT&T Center Sunday night. In doing so, Gregg Popovich moved past Phil Jackson on the all-time wins list for coaches with his 1,156th in the regular season.
| Coach | Wins | Career | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Don Nelson | 1335 | 1977-2010 |
| 2 | Lenny Wilkens | 1332 | 1970-2005 |
| 3 | Jerry Sloan | 1221 | 1980-2011 |
| 4 | Pat Riley | 1219 | 1982-2008 |
| 5 | George Karl | 1175 | 1985-2016 |
| 6 | Gregg Popovich | 1156 | 1997-2018 |
| 7 | Phil Jackson | 1155 | 1990-2011 |
| 8 | Larry Brown | 1098 | 1977-2011 |
| 9 | Rick Adelman | 1042 | 1989-2014 |
| 10 | Bill Fitch | 944 | 1971-1998 |
(courtesy: Basketball-Reference.com)
Of the coaches in the top 10, Popovich has the second-strongest winning percentage (.694) behind Jackson (.704). His 166 victories in the playoffs are also the third-most ever behind both Jackson (229) and Pat Riley (171).
Jackson is still the leader by a wide margin when it comes to rings, though, capturing a record 11 titles with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, while Popovich has the third-most ever with five.
Following the win over Phoenix, Popovich declined to talk basketball with reporters out of respect for the victims of the mass shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs Sunday morning, which is roughly 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.
The Spurs improved to 6-4, and will host the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
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