How much do top NBA coaches make as salary in 2021? Let's take a look across the league

The modern NBA has a host of superteams and star players who play a big role in influencing a team’s management. In such a scenario, an NBA coach is responsible for coaching just as much as he is of making sure that his team has a high morale. Recent years have seen a range of coaches who have led their teams to unlikely runs in the playoffs, with Nick Nurse’s Toronto Raptors in 2019 and Eric Spoelstra’s Miami Heat in 2020 the prime examples.

Regardless, the head coach’s job is often delicate, with some of the greatest coaches having proven their worth over the years at the top level. In this article, we look at the current salaries of some top NBA coaches.

How much do NBA coaches make as salary in 2021? A look across the league

It won’t be much of a surprise that the San Antonio Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich currently earns the highest among NBA coaches, with $11 million per year. Popovich led the Spurs to the NBA playoffs for 22 straight seasons, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches that the NBA has ever seen. Currently, an NBA coach earns around $2-4 million on average, with some of the top coaches receiving much more.

This includes the likes of Steve Nash of the Brooklyn Nets and Doc Rivers of the Philadelphia 76ers. Nash reportedly earns around $9.2 million while Rivers has a contract with around $8 million in annual salary. Tom Thibodeau was reported to earn around $10 million a year with the Minnesota Timberwolves although not much is known about his salary with the New York Knicks.

Tyronn Lue (LA Clippers), Scott Brooks of the Washington Wizards, and Rick Carlisle of the Dallas Mavericks make around $7 million a year. Meanwhile NBA coaches Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors), Dwayne Casey (Detroit Pistons) and Mike Budenholzer (Milwaukee Bucks) make around $6 million each.

The likes of Nate McMillan (Atlanta Hawks), the outgoing Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics, Mike Malone (Denver Nuggets), Frank Vogel (LA Lakers), Stephen Silas (Houston Rockets), Nate Bjorkgren (Indiana Pacers), Miami Heat’s Eric Spoelstra and Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves each earn around $3-4 million. Not a lot of information is available about the salaries of the rest of the NBA head coaches currently.

However, the rest of the salaries among NBA head coaches is expected to be between $2-4 million, which is the average salary that NBA coaches can earn in 2021. The highest earner among coaches in the NBA is currently Greg Popovich, who earns a handsome $11 million a year.