For the second straight offseason, Erik Spoelstra of the Heat is the longest-tenured head coach in the NBA.
Spoelstra took over the top spot on our list when Gregg Popovich announced his retirement in May 2025. Popovich had been head coach of the Spurs for nearly three decades.
Spoelstra has won two championships and has made six total NBA Finals appearances since he took over as Miami’s head coach in 2008. He will also be the head coach for Team USA during the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.
Five of the NBA’s 11 longest-tenured head coaches have been replaced since we checked in last summer, with Billy Donovan of the Bulls (September 2020), Chauncey Billups of the Trail Blazers (June 2021), Jason Kidd of the Mavericks, Jamahl Mosely of the Magic (July 2021) and Willie Green of the Pelicans (July 2021) all parting ways with their respective teams.
Mosley was the only coach of the group to find a new head coaching job this offseason, having joined the Pelicans on a five-year contract. Donovan will be the new top assistant in San Antonio, while Green is expected to join Dallas as the lead assistant.
The total number of coaching changes in the past year – six – isn’t abnormally high, but it’s unusual for us to be removing so many names at the top of our list. The final coaching change came in Milwaukee, where former Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins replaced Doc Rivers as the top coach of the Bucks.
Here’s the current breakdown of the NBA’s longest-tenured head coaches by team:
- Erik SpoelstraHeat: April 2008
- Steve KerrWarriors: May 2014
- Tyronn LueClippers: October 2020
- Mark DaigneaultThunder: November 2020
- Chris FinchTimberwolves: February 2021
- Rick CarlislePacers: June 24, 2021
- Will HardyJazz: June 2022
- Joe MazzullaCeltics: September 2022
- Mazzulla became the Celtics’ interim head coach in September 2022 and was named the permanent head coach in February 2023.
- Quin SnyderHawks: February 2023
- Making UdokaRockets: April 2023
- Nick NurseSixers: June 1, 2023
- Darko RajakovicRaptors: June 13, 2023
- Brian KeefeWizards: January 25, 2024
- Keefe became the Wizards’ interim head coach in January 2024 and was named the permanent head coach in May 2024.
- Jordi FernandezNets: April 2024
- Charles LeeHornets: May 2024
- J.J. RedickLakers: June 24, 2024
- Kenny AtkinsonCavaliers: June 28, 2024
- J.B. BickerstaffPistons: July 2024
- Mitch JohnsonSpurs: November 2024
- Johnson took over as the Spurs’ acting head coach in November 2024 after Gregg Popovich suffered a stroke; he was named the permanent head coach in May 2025 when Popovich stepped down from the position.
- Doug ChristieKings: December 2024
- Christie became the Kings’ interim head coach in December 2024 and was named the permanent head coach in May 2025.
- Tuomas IisaloGrizzlies: March 2025
- Iisalo became the Grizzlies’ interim head coach in March 2025 and was named the permanent head coach in May 2025.
- David AdelmanNuggets: April 2025
- Adelman became the Nuggets’ interim head coach in April 2025 and was named the permanent head coach in May 2025.
- Jordan OttSuns: June 2025
- Mike BrownKnicks: July 2025
- Taylor JenkinsBucks: April 30, 2026
- Jamahl MosleyPelicans: May 18, 2026
- Sean SweeneyMagic: June 1, 2026
- Tiago SplitterBulls: June 16, 2026
- Micah NoriTrail Blazers: June 23, 2026
- Dusty MayMavericks: June 23, 2026
- Dallas announced the hiring of May mere hours after Portland did the same with Nori.
There’s a six-year gap between Spoelstra and second-place Kerr, who has won four titles with Golden State. Incredibly, the gap of six-plus years between Kerr and third-place Lue is larger than five-plus year gap between Lue and May, the head coach most recently hired.