Who Are the Highest-Paid Coaches in the NBA? A Full Breakdown

Who Are the Highest-Paid Coaches in the NBA? A Full Breakdown

Monday brought news that Dan Hurley decided to turn down the Los Angeles Lakers and stay at UConn. Of the many aspects of the news, perhaps the most notable was that the Lakers were willing to pony up the big bucks to land their target.

In reporting Hurley is staying put, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski revealed L.A. was prepared to make Hurley one of the six highest-paid coaches in the NBA — to the tune of a six-year deal worth $70 million, good for more than $10 million annually.

Naturally, this begs the question of what coaches would have been making more than Hurley, as well as who would've been making less. NBA head coaching salaries are not the tightly-guarded secrets that NFL head coaching salaries generally are, but teams are rarely willing to plainly spell out how much they are paying their head coaches.

That does not stop the information from getting out, though. There are sourced reports on the contract value and annual salary of the top coaches in the league.

With that in mind, who are the highest-paid coaches in the NBA?

Below is a table listing the five highest-paid NBA head coaches, per NBC.

NAME

TEAM

SALARY

RECORD

Steve Kerr

Golden State Warriors

$17.5 million

519-274

Gregg Popovich

San Antonio Spurs

$16 million

1,388-821

Erik Spoelstra

Miami Heat

$15 million

750-527

Tyronn Lue

Los Angeles Clippers

$14 million

312-217

Monty Williams

Detroit Pistons

$13 million

381-404

Based on these numbers, Hurley would have slotted in behind Williams.

You may be asking why there are only five coaches listed. That's because, until recently, NBA head coach salaries were not interesting enough topics for insiders to report on. Combined with how stingy teams tend to be with this sort of information and reporters like Wojnarowski end up only reporting on the biggest numbers such as above.

That is not always the case. Mike Brown's negotiations with the Sacramento Kings, for example, were heavily covered and the news spread quickly once he reached a deal that would pay him $8.5 million annually. But for the most part there is little solid reporting on how much coaches around the league make.

The next question, then, is why do the coaches mentioned above warrant investigative reporting and high salaries?

Steve Kerr

Kerr signed a two-year extension worth $35 million with the Golden State Warriors in February, making him the highest-paid coach in the NBA. It is not hard to understand why. Kerr took over the Dubs in 2014 and immediately found success, winning four NBA titles in 10 years at the helm. Kerr is one of the winningest head coaches in the modern era and certainly one of the most respected.

The players play the game, but every great player needs a good head coach to put them in position to succeed. Kerr did that to such an extent that he created a modern dynasty behind Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Which essentially earned him the right to ask for whatever he wants in contract negotiations.

Gregg Popovich

Coach Pop needs little introduction, but we'll go full speed ahead anyway. Popovich is one of the best head coaches in NBA history from just about every angle. He's coached the San Antonio Spurs since 1994 and won more than 1,000 games on the team's bench. He helmed a dynasty of his own centered around Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. Popovich won multiple titles with that core, with the last coming in 2014 over the dying embers of LeBron James' Miami Heat team.

Popovich is a legend and that's why the Spurs gave him a massive five-year, $80 million deal last offseason to stay with the franchise until (presumably) the end of his career.

Erik Spoelstra

Spoelstra's rise from video coordinator to championship-winning head coach is the stuff of legends and the Miami Heat were happy to reward him accordingly. After winning two titles with LeBron's Big 3 and twice winning the Eastern Conference with the Jimmy Butler/Bam Adebayo core, he signed an eight-year deal worth $120 million with the Heat in January 2024.

Spoelstra is widely recognized as one of the best tactical coaches in the game and, at only 53, has many good years ahead of him. Miami was wise to lock him up for the long run.

Tyronn Lue

Unlike the names above, Lue has not won a championship with his current team. He is a title-winning head coach after helping lead the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers to the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, but Lue has spent the last few years in Los Angeles with the Clippers. He's gone 184-134 despite dealing with numerous injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, making one deep playoff run since he was hired ahead of the 2020-'21 season.

In May 2024, Lue signed a five-year $70 million deal with the Clippers. He has clearly found success with the franchise and they are happy to have him.

Monty Williams

Many an eyebrow was raised around the NBA when Williams signed a gigantic $78.5 million deal with the Detroit Pistons last summer. At the time it was the biggest contact given out to an NBA head coach in history. Williams had just finished up an uneven final season with the Phoenix Suns but was only two years removed from an NBA Finals appearance.

It took almost no time for things to go sideways. The Pistons set an NBA record for longest losing streak under Williams' watch and finished the 2023-'24 season with only 14 wins. Williams remains in place as the team's head coach but will have to start showing he's worth his high salary soon.

Clippers 'Determined' to Sign Ty Lue to Contract Extension Amid Lakers Rumors, per Report

Clippers ‘Determined’ to Sign Ty Lue to Contract Extension Amid Lakers Rumors, per Report

Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue likely won't be going anywhere this offseason.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday that the Clippers are focused on offering Lue a long-term contract extension this summer. That report arrived one day after Lue was named a potential candidate to replace the fired Darvin Ham as the Los Angeles Lakers' next head coach.

"The Clippers are determined to do a long-term deal with Ty Lue, I'm told," Wojnarowski said on NBA Today Friday. "They want him to be their coach for a very long time. ... They love the job that he's done there."

The Clippers will work toward a new deal with Lue this summer after their playoff run is over, per Wojnarowski. Los Angeles is facing elimination from playoff contention Friday, as they trail the Dallas Mavericks 3–2 in their first-round series entering Game 6 at American Airlines Center.

Lue, who won an NBA championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, has registered a 184–134 record over four seasons as the Clippers' head coach. The Clippers have advanced past the first round of the playoffs just once under his watch, losing to the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 Western Conference finals.

If he and the Clippers parted ways, Lue was reported to be a candidate to serve as the Lakers' next coach along with former NBA player JJ Redick and coaching veterans Mike Budenholzer and Kenny Atkinson.

It appears Lue will be opening the 2024–25 NBA season at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood instead of donning purple and gold at Crypto.com Arena.

JJ Redick, Ty Lue Candidates to Land Lakers Job If Darvin Ham Is Fired, per Report

JJ Redick, Ty Lue Candidates to Land Lakers Job If Darvin Ham Is Fired, per Report

The Los Angeles Lakers could part ways with coach Darvin Ham this offseason after the team's first-round exit at the hands of the reigning champion Denver Nuggets, who have now bounced Los Angeles from the playoffs in two straight seasons.

Although it's not yet been made official, Ham's exit has been widely speculated upon, and some names have already been floated as possible replacements for the Lakers' potential vacancy.

Among those who are considered "real candidates" include both Tyronn Lue and JJ Redick, according to ESPN's Lakers reporter Dave McMenamin.

"JJ [Redick] certainly is a real candidate if they do open up this coaching search," McMenamin said Thursday during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show. "There's, I'd say, half a dozen folks out there, including possibly the guy who just lost last night against the Mavericks, Tyronn Lue ... that there will be a process there that there are several viable candidates that will get an interview."

McMenamin noted that Ham had not yet met with the Los Angeles front office regarding his future, so there's still no guarantee that he won't be brought back for the 2024-25 season.

Redick, of course, recently started a podcast with Lakers superstar LeBron James dubbed Mind the Game, where the pair break down the X's and O's of basketball together.

It's clear that James holds him in high regard, so if a vacancy does open up, it stands to reason that Redick, who has reportedly interviewed for the Charlotte Hornets' vacancy, would be a realistic Lakers candidate.