Since its inception in 1967, the Brooklyn Nets, formerly known as the New Jersey Nets, have made the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs 20 times and won 1,453 regular-season games. While playing in the American Basketball Association (ABA), the team won 374 regular-season games and made the playoffs seven times.
However, the franchise has been characterized by instability at the head coach position—only two coaches have been with the team for more than five seasons, while eight others have coached fewer than 100 games. Moreover, only four coaches have won 100 games with the Nets. The following are the franchise's Top 5 coaches in that regard:
Kevin Loughery
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Loughery is the Nets' all-time leader in regular-season games coached (615), won (297), and lost (318). He has also guided the team to four playoff appearances and has a playoff win-loss record of 21-13.
As a player, Loughery was selected in the 11th round of the 1961 NBA Draft and played 11 seasons in the league before retiring as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1973. He also spent 31 games as a player-coach that season.
He joined the coaching staff of the Nets (then known as the New York Nets) the following season and led the team to its first of two American Basketball Association (ABA) titles after a 55-29 regular season. The team won its second ABA title under Loughery in 1975-76 following another 55-win regular season.
The franchise joined the NBA for the 1976-77 season and Loughery continued to serve as head coach until the 1980-81 season. He later coached the Atlanta Hawks, the Chicago Bulls, the Washington Bullets, and the Miami Heat. His combined coaching record is 642-746. Among others, Loughery coached all-time great players like Julius Erving and Michael Jordan.
Lawrence Frank
The only other coach to spend more than five seasons with the Nets is Lawrence Frank. The 49-year-old native of Teaneck, New Jersey, coached the team from 2003 to 2010, during which time he compiled a regular-season record of 225-241. He is a four-time Eastern Conference Coach of the Month and set an NBA coaching record in 2003-04 by winning his first 13 games.
The Nets made the playoffs in each of his first four seasons as head coach, but posted back-to-back 34-48 records in 2007-08 and 2008-09, missing the playoffs in both years. Frank was fired from the Nets following a streak of 17 consecutive losses to start the 2009-10 season.
Frank later served two seasons as head coach of the Detroit Pistons and has additional NBA coaching experience in an assistant capacity with the Nets, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Boston Celtics, and the Vancouver Grizzlies. He presently serves as the Clippers' president of basketball operations.
Byron Scott
The predecessor to Frank, Byron Scott coached the Nets for parts of four seasons and produced a record of 149-139. A three-time NBA champion as a player, Scott began coaching in 1998-99 as an assistant with the Sacramento Kings and, two years later, was hired as head coach of the Nets. After a disappointing 26-56 record in his first season with the team, Scott led the Nets to a 52-30 record in 2001-02.
The team reached the NBA Finals for the first time in their history, but they were swept in four consecutive games by the Los Angeles Lakers. Following a 49-win season in 2002-03, Scott guided the Nets back to the NBA Finals; however, the team lost the best-of-seven series in six games to the San Antonio Spurs. Scott was fired following a 22-20 start to the 2003-04 season.
Scott has since coached the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Lakers. Through 1,101 games coached, he has a record of 454-647. He won Coach of the Year in 2007-08 after leading the Hornets to 56 wins and the team’s first playoff appearance in four seasons.
Lou Carnesecca
Despite ranking fourth all-time in coaching victories with the Nets, Lou Carnesecca is known more for his coaching career at St. John's University in New York.
Carnesecca began coaching at St. John's in 1965 and served in this capacity every year until 1992, save for his three-year stint as head coach of the Nets from 1970 to 1973. During his tenure, the Nets posted a record of 114-138 for a winning percentage of .452.
At St. John's, Carnesecca was a three-time Big East Coach of the Year who led his team to 18 NCAA Tournaments and five regular-season championships. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992.
Kenny Atkinson
The current head coach of the Nets had 93 wins with the team as of November 5, 2019, and passed Larry Brown for fifth all-time following Brooklyn's second victory of the 2019-20 season. The University of Richmond alumnus was hired as the team's head coach prior to the 2016-17 season. He previously served as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks.