Five NBA coaches who must win now
Eight NBA teams start the 2024-25 season with a different coach than they had to start last season.
Doc Rivers took over the Milwaukee Bucks halfway through the season in late January. Brian Keefe finished the season as interim coach of the Washington Wizards, replacing Wes Unseld Jr. in January, and then got the top job permanently in May. Six other teams made coaching changes headed into this season.
Of those eight coaches, four are first-time NBA head coaches: JJ Redick (Los Angeles Lakers), Jordi Fernandez (Brooklyn Nets), Charles Lee (Charlotte Hornets) and Keefe. The other four previously have been head coaches: Rivers, Mike Budenholzer (Phoenix Suns), J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons) and Kenny Atkinson (Cleveland Cavaliers).
The new coaches facing the most pressure this season:
5. J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit Pistons
For a team that won 14 games last season – and 17 the season before that, 23 the season before that and 20 the season before that one – there is pressure on J.B. Bickerstaff to win. The Pistons have a roster with four lottery picks, including 2021 No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham who in July signed a five-year, $224.2 million extension. On top of that, the Pistons fired Monty Williams, who coached Detroit just one season and had $65 million remaining on his contract. The Pistons need to show improvement and win more. They tabbed Bickerstaff to lead the way.
4. Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kenny Atkinson waited until the right situation to take his second head coaching job – accepting the Cleveland Cavaliers gig after the team went 48-34, lost in the second round of the playoffs and parted ways with J.B. Bickerstaff. Atkinson, who coached the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-2020, has talent with which to work: Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland. But can he get them out of the second round and into the conference finals in an East that is improving?
3. Mike Budenholzer, Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns have their third coach in as many seasons. They dismissed Monty Williams in 2023, Frank Vogel in May and turned to Budenholzer, the Arizona native who coached the Milwaukee Bucks to a title in 2021 over the Suns. Budenholzer is a solid coach, no question there, who made the Bucks a top defensive team and maximized Giannis Antetokounmpo. He gets results. With a roster featuring Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal (a massive $150.5 million in salary just this season for those three), Budenholzer, a two-time coach of the year, is tasked with getting the Suns not only out of the first round but deep into May and possibly June. That’s a tough ask in a deep West.
2. Doc Rivers, Milwaukee Bucks
Even though Doc Rivers got the job last season, he’s entering his first full season with Milwaukee, and he belongs on this list – especially after the Bucks acquired Damian Lillard to assist Giannis Antetokounmpo and lost in the first round in 2024. The Bucks want another championship with Antetokounmpo still playing at a top-five level – plus, they made a significant financial commitment to Rivers.
1. JJ Redick, Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers enter the season on dual tracks – trying to win now with LeBron James and Anthony Davis and trying to develop younger players and prepare for a future without James. And it’s on a first-time coach to lead the way. Not an easy first job for JJ Redick who the Lakers hired in June. He comes into the job with open eyes, understanding he’s not coaching the Albany Patroons. Still, it’s the Lakers in one of the league’s most high-profile jobs where expectations go beyond just making the playoffs. There is pressure to get deeper in the playoffs while James is still producing at an All-NBA level at 39 (soon to be 40) years old.
Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt
