When it comes down to being considered a great head coach, you are defined by winning and losing. Some coaches can coach less talented teams to great success, consistently overachieving and maximizing the rosters. Others can get star-studded teams to buy in and sacrifice for the greater good, leading to dynasties and prolonged winning.

Beyond the hardwood battles, these strategic minds orchestrate the players’ talent, turning raw potential into refined excellence. As the heartbeat of any successful franchise, NBA coaches are revered for their ability to inspire, motivate, and lead their teams to victory.

But which coaches are the most well-perceived by fans? New research from Betway has outlined who the frontrunners are and how different sets of fans rate their coach based on social media data.

Top 14 Most Well-respected NBA Coaches based on fans

The following table ranks the top 14 NBA coaches based on the positive sentiment score (%) of the tweets mentioning them in the past 12 months:

J.B. Bickerstaff, at the helm of the Cleveland Cavaliers, takes the lead with a 0.462 winning percentage and an impressive 33.8% positive online sentiment score across social media posts mentioning him in the past year. Fans online commend his coaching style and seem to resonate with his leadership on and off the court.

Following closely behind is Chicago Bulls’ Billy Donovan, with a notable 33.4% positive online sentiment score. The Windy City seems to embrace Donovan's coaching approach, appreciating his impact on the team's performance and the positivity he brings to the franchise.

In the Mile-High City, Michael Malone has not only led the Denver Nuggets to significant wins (0.554% winning percentage) but has also earned fans’ respect with over 30% of online posts mentioning him being positive (31.0%). Utah Jazz coach, Quin Snyder and Boston Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla complete the top five with 30.9% and 30.3% online conversations about them being positive.

In 18^th place, it’s Adrian Griffin, former coach of the Milwaukee Bucks with just 16% of online conversations about him being positive. The Milwaukee Bucks shook the NBA when it fired him last week and hired Doc Rivers in his place. Right before Griffin was terminated, the Bucks were second in the Eastern Conference with a 30-13 record, which could be the reason for this switch.

Coming 19^th overall in the ranking with a 16% positive sentiment score is Chris Finch; while the Timberwolves continue to strive for success on the court, Finch's coaching style has fans divided, and recently was criticized due to his choice of a lineup for the game against the Spurs. Regardless, Chris Finch holds his ground, showcasing the potential for his influence to grow as the Timberwolves progress in their journey this season.

The full list is as follows:

• Brian Keefe - January 25, 2024: Hired as Interim Head Coach by the Washington Wizards.
• *Doc Rivers - January 26, 2024: Hired as Interim Head Coach by the Milwaukee Bucks

This goes without saying, that there’s no disrespect to the lowest-ranked coaches, as this is a social media power ranking, and particularly to those in their first top jobs; they will be duly rewarded next season once fans have a chance to know them better.

As the current NBA campaign is in full force, the teams are battling it out for the title. For even more expert insight, check out the latest NBA news, including the most up-to-date tips, picks, and betting odds.

Sources:

Brandwatch: social media sentiment data

Winning % head coaches: https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2024_coaches.ht

Methodology:

To determine the NBA coaches with the most positive online sentiment, we used the social listening tool, Brandwatch, which crawls data on mentions across the internet from the past 12 months.

From then, we ranked the coaches based on who's most positively talked about online.

Data is accurate as of 01/23/2024

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