Leading the Charge: Ranking the New Coaching Hires of the NBA Offseason

Mike Budenholzer (Phoenix Suns)

Mike Budenholzer has the most head coaching success out of all the new hires, leading the Bucks to the championship in 2021. Budenholzer has been involved in the NBA for decades, joining the Spurs as a video coordinator in 1995 and joining the assistant coaching staff in 1997. He was a member of four championship teams (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007) with San Antonio. In 2013, Budenholzer was named the Hawks head coach, where he coached for five years, leading the Hawks to their best season in 2015, where they won a franchise record 60 games. Bud was named Coach of the Year; he won the award for the second time in 2019 with Milwaukee. The Bucks fired Budenholzer after they were upset in the first round by the Miami Heat in 2023. After taking a year off, Budenholzer will now be at the helm for the Phoenix Suns, who had a disappointing finish last year, losing to the Timberwolves in the first round. The Suns have two superstars, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, but the contracts of their three main players (including Bradley Beal) make it hard to fill out the rest of the roster. It'll be up to Mike to work with what he's been given and figure out how to maximize the duplicative skillsets of their big three. Budenholzer has a career coaching record of 484-317.

Kenny Atkinson (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Kenny Atkinson has been a staple on NBA benches since he joined the Knicks in 2008 as an assistant coach. He's had several assistant coaching stints with New York, Atlanta, the Clippers, and most recently, the Warriors, helping them to the championship in 2022. Atkinson was also a head coach for the Brooklyn Nets for four seasons from 2016-2020. Kenny is one of the most experienced assistants in the league. He will have to find significantly more success than he did in Brooklyn, especially with former Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff winning 99 games over the last two years. He's a great player development guy, which is becoming more critical every year. Atkinson's career coaching record is 118-189. The most important thing for the Cavs moving forward will be Donovan Mitchell's contract situation. Still, they should have a competitive squad if he stays in Cleveland. Atkinson will try to secure his second winning season as head coach, with his other coming in 2019, leading the Nets to a 42-40 record and a first-round exit.

Charles Lee (Charlotte Hornets)

Charles Lee has championship success as an assistant coach, winning the title with the Celtics this year and the Bucks in 2021. He was hired as an assistant coach by Mike Budenholzer in 2014 and has been a member of his coaching staff throughout his stints in Atlanta and Milwaukee. Lee was promoted to associate head coach with the Bucks in 2022 after Darvin Ham left for the Lakers. At 39, Lee is the fourth-youngest head coach in the NBA and will be challenged to get the Hornets into the playoffs as they have the longest current playoff drought, having not played a postseason basketball game since 2016. Hornets general manager Jeff Peterson cited Lee as a "great communicator." That skill will be vital considering the youth of the current Charlotte team, who have a young all-star in LaMelo Ball and some exciting young players in Brandon Miller and their lottery pick Tidjane Salaun.

Brian Keefe (Washington Wizards)

Brian Keefe started his career with the Spurs as a video coordinator in 2005 after the Spurs won the championship and was there during their 2007 title run. Eventually, he worked as a player development coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder and played a big part in the development of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. He's had numerous coaching stops throughout the years with the Knicks, Lakers, Nets, and eventually the Wizards this season, where he was their lead assistant coach. Keefe was named interim head coach in January, coaching Washington for 39 games with an 8-31 record. The Wizards promoted Keefe to full-time head coach on May 29. Keefe is a great player development coach and, throughout his career, had several jobs as a defensive coordinator, having developed several now all-stars, and his next goal will be developing Alex Sarr, Washington's second-overall pick from the draft this year.

J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons)

J.B. Bickerstaff is the most recent head coach on this list, having been the coach of the Cavaliers for the last five seasons. Bickerstaff started his career as an assistant coach with the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004, with additional stints with the Timberwolves, Rockets, and Grizzlies before joining the Cavs and moving up the ranks. The Pistons' job will come with a lot of early struggles, with Bickerstaff being their third coach in three seasons and the first move by the new regime spearheaded by Trajan Langdon, President of Basketball Operations. Detroit was one of the worst teams in the league last season, losing 28 consecutive games (tied for the longest streak in NBA history). There are many promising young players in Detroit, including Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, and their fifth overall draft pick, Ron Holland. Bickerstaff has worked with young players before, including Darius Garland and Evan Mobley, and will need to develop the Pistons' talent the right way to help restore the franchise to its former glory. His all-time coaching record is 255-290, but over his five-year stint with the Cavaliers, he had a winning record of 170-159, with 99 wins over the last two seasons. He also has the most recent head coaching playoff success out of any of the new hires, leading the Cavaliers to a second-round exit in five games to the Celtics.

JJ Redick (Los Angeles Lakers)

JJ Redick is the great unknown in coaching this year. He was hired as the Lakers' head coach earlier last week and will be heavily scrutinized throughout the season due to how he got the job, as he has no prior coaching experience. Redick is a brilliant basketball mind, as he's demonstrated throughout his Mind the Game podcast with LeBron James, his Old Man and the Three podcast, and his numerous media appearances for ESPN covering games and appearing on their programs. As a fifteen-year NBA veteran, Redick understands the modern game well, and his philosophies should translate to a much more successful season for the Lakers, barring injuries. He leans heavily into analytics and is a very detail-oriented person when it comes to the Xs-and-Os. Redick is someone the Lakers think can develop Bronny James into an NBA player, and he'll have to manage the media firestorm that comes with LeBron. JJ is the sixth-youngest coach in the NBA and already says he has plans to utilize players like Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, LeBron, and Austin Reaves, as well as what many think is the steal of the draft, Dalton Knecht, who the Lakers selected at 17th overall after the Tennessee wing fell out of his projected top-ten spot. The hire, alongside drafting Bronny with the 55th overall pick, all but guarantees that LeBron will stay with the Lakers, and that's a massive win for LA retaining the NBA's all-time leading scorer who's still playing at a top-ten level while approaching 40 years old.

Jordi Fernandez (Brooklyn Nets)

Jordi Fernandez has lots of coaching experience, starting his career with the Cavs in 2009 as a player development coach, eventually taking over as head coach for the Cavs G League team, the Canton Charge, in 2016. He was a member of the Cavs coaching staff during their historic 2016 championship run. Over the last eight years, Fernandez has been an assistant coach on the Nuggets and the Kings and has a lot of overseas experience, being an assistant coach for the Spanish National Team from 2017 to 2019 and is now the head coach for Team Canada's Mens Basketball team. Brooklyn is expected to be in a rebuilding year after trading Mikal Bridges across town to the Knicks earlier this week, so expectations will be low in terms of winning. Still, Fernandez has a reputation as a great player development guy, and someone players can learn from, which will be important in trying to establish a culture in Brooklyn, something the Nets have been missing since their failed Big Three experiment.

Mike Budenholzer (Phoenix Suns)

Mike Budenholzer has the most head coaching success out of all the new hires, leading the Bucks to the championship in 2021. Budenholzer has been involved in the NBA for decades, joining the Spurs as a video coordinator in 1995 and joining the assistant coaching staff in 1997. He was a member of four championship teams (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007) with San Antonio. In 2013, Budenholzer was named the Hawks head coach, where he coached for five years, leading the Hawks to their best season in 2015, where they won a franchise record 60 games. Bud was named Coach of the Year; he won the award for the second time in 2019 with Milwaukee. The Bucks fired Budenholzer after they were upset in the first round by the Miami Heat in 2023. After taking a year off, Budenholzer will now be at the helm for the Phoenix Suns, who had a disappointing finish last year, losing to the Timberwolves in the first round. The Suns have two superstars, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, but the contracts of their three main players (including Bradley Beal) make it hard to fill out the rest of the roster. It'll be up to Mike to work with what he's been given and figure out how to maximize the duplicative skillsets of their big three. Budenholzer has a career coaching record of 484-317.