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Most basketball fans are more than familiar with the top coaches in NBA history. From Red Auerbach to Gregg Popovich, there have always been elite coaches who separate themselves from the pack year after year. The right coaching and team culture can change the entire course of a franchise and set a team on track for sustained success.
However, on the flip side, poor coaching can make a franchise’s situation go from bad to worse quickly. While bad coaches are typically ridiculed relentlessly, they often slip through the annals of history only to be forgotten later on.
So, for this article, we will be taking a look at some of the NBA coaches with the worst winning percentages in league history. Given that many of these coaches only lasted less than a full season, we will be narrowing the list down to coaches with a minimum of 100 games coached.
Top 5 worst NBA coaches based on winning percentage (minimum 100 games coached)
#5 Sidney Lowe
Former NBA player Sidney Lowe received two coaching opportunities from 1993 to 2002. However, his teams were unsuccessful during both of his stops. During his first two seasons as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves (1993-1994), Lowe led the Wolves to a 33-102 record (.244).
Lowe followed that up by going 46-126 (.267) during just over two seasons with the Grizzlies in Vancouver and Memphis (2000-2002). In total, Lowe has a career coaching record of just 79-228 (.257), marking the fifth-worst winning percentage in league history.
#4 Stephen Silas
The most recent coach on this list, Stephen Silas, was fired this past offseason. This came after Silas led the Houston Rockets to the worst record in the league over his first three seasons (2020-2023). Following his firing, Silas has a career coaching record of just 59-177 (.250), the fourth-worst winning percentage in league history.
#3/2 (Tie) Dick Harter
The first-ever coach of the Charlotte Hornets, Dick Harter struggled mightily during his two seasons in Charlotte (1988-1990). Harter led the then-expansion team to a record of just 28-94 (.230), marking a tie for the second-worst career coaching winning percentage in league history.
$3/2 (Tie) Clair Bee
Clair Bee was an elite college basketball coach at Rider and Long Island University, racking up a historic 413-88 coaching record (.824) from 1928 to 1951. However, his success didn’t translate to the NBA as he struggled mightily over two seasons with the Baltimore Bullets (1952-1954).
Bee finished with an NBA coaching record of just 32-107 (.230), which has him tied for the second-worst winning percentage in league history.
#1 Brian Winters
Brian Winters enjoyed a successful nine-year NBA career as a player. The shooting guard made two All-Star teams before retiring in 1983. However, he didn’t fare nearly as well during his NBA coaching career.
During his first two-year coaching stint with the Vancouver Grizzlies (1995-1997), Winters led the team to an abysmal 23-102 record (.184). He later led the Golden State Warriors to a 13-46 record (.220) during his lone season with the team (2001-02).
In total, Winters has a career coaching record of just 36-148 (.196), marking the worst winning percentage of all time among coaches with 100+ games coached.
