Head Coach Candidates for the 2025-2026 NBA Season
The coaches who fit the best, and those who are ready for the test.
The 2024-2025 NBA season has brought us 1 head coach vacancy so far; the Sacramento Kings after they dismissed Mike Brown on December 27, 2024. There’s not a lot of coaches who should be on the hot seat this season, however the game has changed for coaches too. For the next round of Head coaches, these are the most popular candidates who always make their way into the finalist position, there’s those who get a chance at a interview, and finally the coaches who might just get their names called this year.
Available Positions
Sacramento Kings
Currently led by interim head coach Doug Christie, the Kings fired Mike Brown after 2 seasons on December 27, 2024. Coach Brown led the team to their first playoff appearance since 2004 and looked like the right leader for this roster, however it seems the front office disagreed. If the Kings decide to bring in a new head coach instead of removing the interim tag off of Christie, this will be the franchise’s 9th head coach in 12 years of Vivek Ranadivé owning the team.
Michael Malone
Tyrone Corbin (Interim, stayed as an advisor for remainder of the season)
George Karl
David Joerger
Luke Walton
Alvin Gentry (Interim, later promoted to front office)
Mike Brown
Doug Christie (Interim/current assistant coach)
In this time of the season, the Kings seem to be confident that this roster is still a playoff team, but regardless of who’s the coach, the front office needs to hold up their end and attempt to upgrade the roster.
Last updated: January 4, 2024
Available Head Coaches
Mike Brown
A 2x Coach of the year winner, Coach Brown is a strong candidate for any type of team situation. Brown is a defensive minded coach who has served as the Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for 2 stints, Los Angeles Lakers, and most recently, the Sacramento Kings. Before starting his head coach career, he served on several coaching staffs in Washington, San Antonio, Indiana, and Golden State.
As the lead assistant coach, Brown with his defensive philosophy helped the Warriors won NBA championships in 2017, 2018, and 2022.
Despite his questionable departure, Brown signed a 3 year extension last summer, so a possibility could be that he’s not in a rush to return to the sidelines next year.
Frank Vogel
Vogel, who serves as a coaching consultant for the Dallas Mavericks has recently served as the Head Coach of the Phoenix Suns before being fired after 1 season. He is a defensive mastermind who has a good amount of head coaching experiences along with several playoff appearances, including one championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.
Vogel’s system would easily replace Mike Brown’s, however his leadership amongst veterans have been questioned during his last two stints. It was reported that the Phoenix Suns locker room was not sold on Vogel towards the end of the season, prompting his firing. A similar situation was reported with the Lakers locker room when they failed to reach the playoffs in 2022.
Regardless of feelings, Vogel’s experience checks off a majority of the boxes for whatever team that decides to towards his direction.
Jacque Vaughn
Vaughn recently served as the Brooklyn Nets head coach after Steve Nash fired in 2022 which led to him being named the permanent head coach. Vaughn’s tenures with young teams has been questionable as a head coach, however as an assistant coach, his defensive capabilities have paired well with each coach he has worked with including Kenny Atkinson and Steve Nash.
His tenure in his new position with the Nets didn’t last long as he was fired in his second year as head coach, the Nets were 21-33 at the time. His Orlando Magic tenure wasn’t as productive, but after 2 full losing seasons, he has probably learned a few things since then.
Vaughn wasn’t active in last year’s coaching search after being fired, he had bought a property in Brooklyn earlier in the year and was pursued by the Lakers to join JJ Redick’s staff in Los Angeles.
Mike D’Antoni
Mike D’Antoni is the most experienced candidate on this list, however he’s also the oldest at the age of 73. He’s spent the last 3 seasons as a coaching consultant for the New Orleans Pelicans and has been interviewed for a couple of head coaching jobs in those off-seasons.
His most memorable coaching stint is with the Houston Rockets where he’s led them to the playoffs all 4 years he was there including 3 division championships. Houston’s playoff runs were cut short thanks to the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers.
D’Antoni can still be of service to any team that wants him, however with his age and step back in coaching in recent years, his return to the sidelines is still in question.
Current Assistant Coaches
Darvin Ham (MIL)
Ham, the lead assistant coach under Doc Rivers in Milwaukee is another name that will interest teams. Ham’s experience with player development is already what makes him an appealing candidate, but leading the Lakers to the western conference finals in his rookie head coaching year is even more impressive.
Ham revealed that he received offers as an assistant coach for several teams after he was fired as the Lakers head coach, including on Mike Budenholzer’s staff in Phoenix, but originally was going to take a break from coaching. Doc Rivers on the other hand, persuaded him to reunite with the Bucks as his lead assistant coach.
Sam Cassell (BOS)
Cassell is currently the lead assistant coach for the Boston Celtics under Joe Mazzulla. A popular name during coaching searches that had recently landed him as a candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching job before the organization favored JJ Redick and James Borrego in their talks.
After playing 15 years in the NBA, he started off his NBA coaching career as a Washington Wizards assistant coach before joining the Clippers coaching staff under Doc Rivers in 2014 as one of his top assistants.
After Rivers was fired in 2020, Cassell followed him to Phildelphia where he was also a top assistant under him until Rivers was once again fired in 2023. Cassell reunited with the Celtics organization as an assistant coach in 2024, when they won the championship. Shortly after, he was later promoted to lead assistant after the departure of Charles Lee.
Cassell is known for his player development skills with young and veteran guards, notably; Chris Paul, JJ Redick, Jamal Crawford, Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, and now Jrue Holiday.
Micah Nori (MIN)
Nori, the lead assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves under Chris Finch is considered one of the best defensive coaches in the league. He has been featured on numerous Timberwolves broadcasts of him breaking down defensive matchups, zones, and other key goals of what the team needs to accomplish against their opponents.
Nori was a a near finalist for the Cleveland Cavaliers job last summer and has been named in previous interviews around the league. Nori took over head coaching responsibilities after Chris Finch was injured during Game 4 against the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs, the Timberwolves still walked away with a victory, sweeping the suns and moving on to the semi-finals.
James Borrego (NOP)
Borrego, the associate head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans under Willie Green has been a strong name and finalist for head coach positions for the past couple of seasons. Known for his exceptional offensive system, his defensive philosophy is not exactly the same.
His NBA coaching career dates back to his first tenure San Antonio Spurs where he won two championships as an assistant coach in 2005 and 2007. After a short stint with the New Orleans Hornets under Monty Williams and in Orlando under Jacque Vaughn, Borrego returned to the Spurs in 2015 where he would remain until he accepted the Charlotte Hornets head coaching job in 2018.
Last summer, he was a finalist for 3 head coaching positions; the Cleveland Cavaliers, The Los Angeles Lakers, and the Detroit Pistons, however he pulled his name out of consideration leading the way for J.B Bickerstaff to be offered the position.
Chris Quinn (MIA)
Quinn, the associate head coach of the Miami Heat under Erik Spoelstra has been considered Spoelstra’s “mini me” by players. He is known for his offense philosophy and plays a role in Miami’s offense.
Quinn had a career as a player for 7 years, a mixture of NBA and international teams including the Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, and the Cleveland Cavaliers. After retiring as a player in 2013, Quinn later reunited with the Miami Heat as an assistant coach in 2014. After the departure of associate head coach David Fizdale (who had left for the Memphis grizzlies in 2016), he assumed the role of associate head coach. It wasn’t until last summer that he was given the official title by the team.
Honorable Mentions
Terry Stotts (GSW) - Lead assistant of the Warriors and former head coach of the Hawks, Bucks, and Trail Blazers who would implement a elite offensive system immediately.
Mitch Johnson (SAS) - Assistant Coach for the Spurs who took over as the interim head coach after Gregg Popovich’s health situation in November 2024. Johnson has grown a reputation in San Antonio and only continues to grow his player development portfolio learning from some of the most experienced coaches in Gregg Popovich and Brett Brown.
Johnnie Bryant (CLE) - The lead assistant of the Cavaliers who has contributed to Kenny Atkinson’s offensive system and played a similar role under Tom Thibodeau with the Knicks. Bryant has worked closely with Donovan Mitchell in Utah and Cleveland, of who Mitchell highly praises.
David Adelman (DEN) - Lead assistant of the Denver Nuggets who has played a role in running Denver’s offense, which eventually paid off when they won a championship in 2023. He learned the best from his Father, Rick Adelman who is one of David’s biggest inspiration in his coaching.
David Joerger (MIL) - Current Milwaukee Bucks assistant and former Grizzlies and Kings head coach. Joerger brings in a mixed offensive and defensive philosophy who can implement systems on both ends of the ball.
This article will be updated whenever any coaching changes occur within the NBA whether it’s a hiring, firing, resignation, or anything to do with this upcoming coaching search.