The Best Charlotte Hornets Coaches Of All Time

Ranker NBA
Updated July 2, 2022
Help shape these rankings by voting on this list of The Best Charlotte Hornets Coaches Of All Time
Voting Rules

Vote up the best Charlotte Hornets coaches ever.

Who are the best Charlotte Hornets coaches of all time? In their time as an NBA franchise, the Charlotte Hornets have gone through many different head coaches, all with different personalities and coaching styles. With that said, who is the best Charlotte Hornets coach of all time? Which Charlotte Hornets head coaches do you love? 

Paul Silas holds a franchise record for most playoff games coached with 23. He also holds the record for the most playoff-game wins with 11. Allan Bristow was the first coach in franchise history to lead the Hornets to the playoffs in 1993. Bristow's Hornets were considered to be the first of the late-1980s expansion teams to be successful.

Vote up the best Charlotte Hornets coaches of all time, and help us decide who the best Charlotte Hornets head coach is by voting up your top picks. You don't have to vote for the winningest Charlotte Hornets Coaches of All Time coach, but it's hard to argue against solid numbers.

Ranked by
  • Dave Cowens
    1

    Dave Cowens

    13 votes

    1996–1999 

    David William Cowens (born October 25, 1948) is an American retired professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At 6'9", he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the Boston Celtics. He was the 1971 NBA Rookie of the Year and the 1973 NBA Most Valuable Player. Cowens won NBA championships as a member of the Celtics in 1974 and 1976. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991. Cowens has held numerous NBA head coaching positions. Most recently, Cowens served as an assistant coach and then as a special assistant to Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars.
  • Steve Clifford
    2

    2013–2018, 2022 -

    Steven Gerald Clifford (born September 17, 1961) is an American basketball coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously served as the head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets and the Orlando Magic.
  • Paul Silas
    3

    Paul Silas

    19 votes

    1999–2002, 2010-2012

    Paul Theron Silas (born July 12, 1943) is an American professional basketball player, who is best known for playing power forward. As a player, he was a two-time NBA All-Star and earned five selections to the NBA All-Defensive Team, including twice on the first team. He won three NBA championships: two with the Boston Celtics and one with the Seattle SuperSonics. During his NBA career, Silas collected more than 10,000 points and 10,000 rebounds over sixteen seasons.
  • Larry Brown
    4

    Larry Brown

    16 votes

    2008–2010 

    Lawrence Harvey Brown (born September 14, 1940) is a former American basketball coach and player who was most recently the head coach for Auxilium Torino of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and EuroCup Basketball. Brown is the only coach in basketball history to win both an NCAA national championship (Kansas Jayhawks, 1988) and an NBA title (Detroit Pistons, 2004). He has a 1,275-965 lifetime professional coaching record in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) and is the only coach in NBA history to lead eight teams to the playoffs. He also won an ABA championship as a player with the Oakland Oaks in the 1968–69 season, and an Olympic Gold Medal in 1964. He is also the only person ever to coach two NBA franchises in the same season (Spurs and Clippers during the 1991–92 NBA season). Before coaching, Brown played collegiately at the University of North Carolina and professionally in the ABA. Brown was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach on September 27, 2002. Although widely considered one of the greatest coaches in basketball history, he has developed a reputation for constantly looking for better coaching opportunities and frequently switching teams or programs before the expiration of his contract.
  • Bernie Bickerstaff
    5

    2004–2007 

    Bernard Tyrone Bickerstaff (born February 11, 1944) is an American basketball coach and front office executive, currently serving as the Senior Basketball Advisor for the Cleveland Cavaliers. As a coach, he previously worked as the head coach for the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics, Denver Nuggets, Washington Bullets/Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats, and Los Angeles Lakers. He has also been an assistant for the Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Cavaliers. He has served in numerous other NBA front office positions, and has been a consultant for the Harlem Globetrotters.
  • James Borrego
    6

    2018–2022 

    James Borrego (born November 12, 1977) is an American basketball coach who most recently served as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Borrego played three seasons with the San Diego Toreros, and during his senior season (2000–01), was named to the West Coast Conference All-Academic Team. Borrego began his coaching career with his alma mater, University of San Diego, as an assistant from 2001 to 2003.