10 NBA Coach Today Ranked By Their Salary

Just clinching the spot on the list is the former NBA champion, Tyronn Lue. He is the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. 

In his short time as a coach, Lue has achieved more than anyone could imagine. He signed a four-year contract with the Clippers in 2020 worth $6.5 million, making him the tenth-highest-earning coach in the league. 

Moving on to his career, Tyronn played for the city rivals, Los Angeles Lakers. He won two NBA championships with the Lakers in 2000 and 2001, significantly impacting the latter year. 

However, the first-round pick didn't play to his full potential. The point guard spent 11 seasons in the NBA and finished with an average of 8.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. 

While his playing stats seem ordinary, the coaching stats don't resonate with the former. Currently, in the 8th year as a head coach, Lue has already made history with two different teams. 

After retiring in 2009, the Boston Celtics hired him as the Director of Basketball Development. He later worked his way up to assistant coaching. The former point guard joined the Clippers' coaching staff in 2013 for a year. 

But things changed when Cleveland Cavaliers came calling. He joined them as an associate coach under David Blatt, becoming the highest-paid assistant coach in the history of the NBA. The franchise fired Blatt mid-season in 2016. 

With the crisis came an opportunity for Tyronn Lue, who grabbed it with both hands. As a head coach, he led his team to the Eastern Conference Championships and the NBA Championships. 

As a result, Lue became one of the few rookie coaches to win the NBA championship. He led the Cavaliers to their first-ever NBA glory, coming back from 3-1 against the State Warriors. 

Furthermore, the former point guard replicated the performance in the next two seasons, only to get beaten by the State Warriors twice. Lue started the 2018 season with a 0-6 record and was fired. 

Joining the Clippers in 2020, Tyronn led the franchise to their first-ever Western Conference finals, only to lose to the Phoneix Suns. 

Dwane Casey signed a five-year contract with the Pistons in 2018 worth $35 million. He has an annual salary of $7 million. 

Moreover, Casey is one of many coaches on the list who hasn't played in the NBA as a player. He started his basketball career as a coach when he coached 10-year-old kids when he was 13. 

One of the top high-school prospects, Dwane played college basketball for the University of Kentucky. He was a college senior when Kentucky won the NCAA championship in 1978. 

Following the championship glory, Casey started to work as an assistant coach at Kentucky. However, in 1989, the coach landed an opportunity in the Japanese league. He was the head coach for the Sekisui Chemical and Isuzu Motors Lynx during six years of stay in Japan.

In 1994, Casey returned to the States as the SuperSonics hired him as an assistant coach. After over a decade in Seattle, he became the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2005. 

However, Dwane's managerial glory came with the Toronto Raptors. He joined the franchise in 2011 and led them to its first-ever conference finals in 2016. The eventual NBA champion, Cleveland Cavaliers, defeated them. 

Likewise, in 2018 Casey led the Raptors to yet another Conference semi-finals where they lost to the Cavaliers again. This saw him get fired and the Raptors went on to win the NBA championship the next season. 

Dwane has been the head coach of the Detroit Pistons in 2018. He has a contract until the 2024 season but there are rumors about his exit already. 

Rick Carlisle is another coach on the list who has won the NBA championship as a player and a coach. 

The former Celtics shooting guard played for five years in the NBA. His playing career wasn't a highlight as he retired with 422 points, 141 rebounds, and 201 assists. However, he won the NBA championship in 1978 with the Boston Celtics. 

The shooting guard joined the Brooklyn Nets coaching staff after his retirement in 1989. He spent 11 years as an NBA assistant coach for several franchises before landing the head coaching position at Detroit Pistons in 2000. 

With over 20 years of experience as an NBA head coach, Carlisle joined the Packers in 2021 on a deal worth $7.25 million annual salary. 

Moreover, Rick won the NBA Coach of the Year Award in his second season as a head coach for the Pistons. He had previously coached the Indiana Packers from 2003 to 2007. 

But the New York native's most successful coaching tenure came with the Dallas Mavericks. He coached the franchise for 13 years, leading them to their first-ever championships glory in 2011. 

During the NBA-winning season, Mavericks were ruthless. They swept the defending champions Los Angeles Lakers during the conference semifinals and sealed the conference with a 4-1 win over OKC. 

The Mavericks would face Miami Heat in the NBA finals and emerged champions with a 4-2 series win. 

Furthermore, Carlisle signed a four-year contract with the Packers in 2021, making him the eighth highest-earning coach in NBA. 

Jason Kidd played under the coaching of Rick Carlisle when they led the Mavericks to the NBA championship in 2011. He now coaches the franchise.

One of the greatest point guards and passers of all time, Jason Kidd often comes into the debate of the best 20 all-time NBA players. The 10-time NBA All-Star has a playing career that takes generations to replicate. 

And similarly, his coaching career seems to have lifted off with a similar high. He became the third person in history to coach an NBA side a year after retiring as a player when the Nets hired him in 2013. 

During the 2013/14 season, Kidd led the Brooklyn Nets to the Conference semi-finals while becoming the first-ever rookie coach to win the decisive Game 7 on the road.

Amidst controversy, he joined the Milwaukee Bucks in 2014 coming off the worst season in the franchise's history. He forged the Bucks' young team into a decent NBA powerhouse and bailed the franchise out of embarrassment. They fired him in 2018. 

With over a year of living behind the scenes, Kidd returned to NBA as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2019. He was instrumental in leading the Lakers to the 2020 NBA championships. 

As a result, the Mavericks appointed him as the head coach in 2021. He started his NBA playing career with the Mavericks and won his only NBA championship with them. And finally, Mr. Triple Double was home. 

Jason led the Mavericks to the Western Conference finals in his first season with impressive playoff performances. The eventual NBA champions, Golden State Warriors, defeated them in the conference finals. 

Nick Nurse doesn't have much experience as an NBA head coach but already has the championship to his name. 

Moreover, the Canadian former basketball player comes from a large pool of coaches who haven't played in the NBA. He spent most of his playing career in England in the British Basketball League. The former point guard played collegiate basketball for Northern Iowa. 

After several coaching jobs in the NBA G-League and the BBL, Nurse joined the coaching staff of the Toronto Raptors in 2013 under Dwane Casey. He was responsible for offensive field play. 

Casey and Nurse were exceptional in developing the Raptors as one of the NBA superpowers. But their affinity for losing against the Cavaliers made their season look tame in the end. 

As a result, the Raptors fired Casey and promoted Nick to the head coaching position. He was spot-on with his tactics and led the Raptors to their first-ever NBA finals appearance and their first-ever NBA finals victory. They drafted the Warriors to write their name on NBA history. 

In the second season, Nurse lost some important players including former MVP Kawhi Leonard. He took them to the conference semi-finals, ultimately losing to the Celtics. 

Nurse won the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2020. He then signed a muti-year contract with the Raptors ensuring a base salary of $8 Million a year. 

Another member of the eight million clubs is Mike Budenholzer. The Milwaukee Bucks head coach worked closely with Gregg Popovich. 

After several coaching stints in Denmark, Budenholzer returned to the NBA as a video coordinator for the Spurs. After two years, he became an assistant coach and a part of the Spurs' extravagant winning history. 

Under legendary coach Popovich, Mike was a part of the coaching staff that won four NBA championships. He remained with the San Antonio Spurs for 17 years before taking the position of head coach for the Atlanta Hawks in 2013. 

As a Hawks coach, Budenholzer led the franchise to their first 17-0 month record in history in January 2015. He won the Coach of the Month award and ultimately, the NBA Coach of the Year award in 2015. 

The former Spurs coach was also the director of basketball operations at Atlanta. He remained there for five years until his consensual departure in 2018. 

Following a successful managerial stint with the Hawks, Budenholzer was appointed as the Bucks' head coach in 2018. During his first season, he led the franchise to playoffs with a 60-22 record. As a result, he won his second NBA Coach of the Year award in 2019. 

Replicating the previous seasons' success and correcting mistakes, Mike led the Bucks to their first NBA championship in 50 years. The franchise previously won it in 1971. 

The coaching veteran is known for his loyalty to Miami Heat. So, it's not surprising he gets paid handsomely by the franchise. 

Erik Spoelstra is another NBA coach who didn't feature in the NBA as a player. The Illinois-born basketball coach grew up in Portland. He played collegiate basketball for the University of Portland. 

The former point guard joined the Miami Heat coaching staff in 1997. He was a video coordinator for Pat Riley for two years before assuming the assistant coach position. 

In 2006, Spoelstra won his first-ever NBA championship as an assistant coach with the Heat. The franchise defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 NBA finals. 

In 2008, the Miami head coach, Pat Riley stepped down from his position, leaving the coaching job vacant. As a result, Erik was promoted as Riley recommended Erik to continue his legacy, making him the first Asian-American head coach in the NBA and major American sports. 

After acquiring LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Erik became the first NBA coach to coach the "Big Three." However, he failed the win the championship during the first season with them, resulting in a lot of tension among players. 

But he led the Heat to their second-ever NBA championship the following season. He also became the first Asian-American coach to win the championship. 

In 2013, Spoelstra became the eighth NBA coach to guide his team to two consecutive NBA championships. He defeated the Spurs in the 2013 NBA championships with a 4-3 thriller. 

Moreover, the 52-year-old led the Heat to their fourth consecutive NBA finals in 2014. Unfortunately, they lost the championship to San Antonio Spurs that time around. 

The former point guard, the most successful Heat coach, signed a multi-year contract with an annual salary of over $8.5 million. 

Moving into the top three, the 76ers coach Doc Rivers is the third-highest paid in the league. He makes around $8.5 million annually. 

An NBA player for over 14 years, Rivers played for the NBA All-Star team in 1988. He played college basketball for Marquette and was picked by the Hawks in the second round of the NBA draft. 

Moreover, Doc's coaching career kicked off in 1999 when Orlando Magic acquired him as the head coach. He took a poor Orlando team almost into the playoffs and won the NBA Coach of the Year award in 2000. He deserved the award because of his improvement to a declining team. 

In the next three years, he led the Magic to playoffs. But the franchise fired him in 2003 after a poor 1-10 start to the season. He became a media commentator after getting fired. 

However, in 2004, the Boston Celtics appointed him the head coach. He was the subject of criticism by pundits and analysts for his tactics. 

But it all changed when Rivers led the Celtics team to the NBA championship in 2008. They defeated the Lakers 4-2 after playing the NBA record 26 post-season games. 

Likewise, the Celtics went to play another NBA finals against the Lakers in 2010. But they lost to the Lakers on a final-game tiebreaker. 

In 2013, Rivers left the Celtics and joined the Los Angeles Clippers. He is responsible for the team's success in the regular season but he couldn't lead them to conference finals. 

As a result, Rivers joined the 76ers in 2020. He signed a multi-year contract with an annual salary of over $8.5 Million. 

A true NBA legend as a player and coach, Steve Kerr is one of the most influential people in basketball.

The former point guard has won five NBA championships, three with the Chicago Bulls and two with the San Antonio Spurs. He played alongside Michael Jordan's Bulls team that won three consecutive NBA championships from 1996 to 1998. 

After that, Kerr joined the San Antonio Spurs who would eventually win the NBA championship. As a result, he became only the second player to win four consecutive NBA championships without being a part of the 1960s Celtics team. 

The point guard returned to San Antonio in 2002 and clinched his fifth NBA championship as a player. He then became a television commentator and reporter.

In 2014, Steve signed a five-year contract with the Golden State Warriors as their head coach. The rookie coach broke all the records, leading the Warriors to their first NBA championships in 50 years. They defeated the Cavaliers in six games. 

The 2014/15 season was the best in Warriors history with a 67-15 record. After missing the 2015 season, Kerr returned in 2016. He led the Warriors to yet another NBA finals but was defeated by the Cavaliers this time. 

In 2017, the Warriors would again play in the NBA finals defeating the Cavaliers again. Kerr led the franchise to three NBA glory in four years as the Warriors defeated the Raptors in the 2018 NBA finals. 

One of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, Kerr won his fourth championship as a Warriors coach with a victory over the Boston Celtics in 2022. He is currently in his 8th year of coaching. 

Who else than Gregg Popovich? The long-time Spurs coach tops the list of the highest-earning coaches in the NBA. He is also the president of the San Antonio Spurs. 

Having led the Spurs to five NBA championships, "Coach Pop" is considered one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time. He has the most wins as a coach in the history of the NBA. 

Moreover, Popovich assumed the role of head coach of the Spurs in 1996 and has since been serving the position. He is currently in his 27th coaching year, the most by active NBA coaches and other major American sports leagues. 

Gregg joined the Spurs management team as a general manager in 1994. In 1996, he fired Bob Hill and appointed himself the head coach of the franchise. Three years later, he led the franchise to its first-ever NBA championship in 1999. 

A legend for the Spurs, all of their five NBA championships have come under Gregg Popovich. After providing the franchise's first NBA title in 1999, he led them to NBA victory in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2014. 

Besides, Popovich led the United States Men's Basketball Team to Olympic gold in 2020. By acclamation, he is the greatest NBA coach of all time.