Phil Jackson takes the top spot as the all-time leader in games coached for the Chicago Bulls. The Chicago Bulls have had 24 head coaches in franchise history. Only one has coached them to a championship. Let’s highlight their top five all-time leaders in games coached.
1. Phil Jackson, 738 Games
Jackson guided the Bulls through the most successful time in their franchise history. He spent nine seasons with the franchise and never recorded a losing record. He won fewer than 55 games in a season just one time. In 1995-96, he was named the Coach of the Year. The Bulls won all six of their championships with Jackson as their head coach. He finished with a career regular season record of 545-193 with the Bulls. During the playoffs, he went 111-41. Jackson would go on to win five more championships as the coach of the Lakers. 2. Dick Motta, 656 Games
Motta spent eight seasons as the head coach of the Bulls. In four of those seasons, they won at least 51 games. They made a total of six trips to the playoffs under Motta, advancing as far as the Western Conference Finals. The Bulls went 24-58 in 1975-76, which was Motta’s final campaign with the team. He finished with a regular season record of 356-300 with the Bulls and went 18-29 in the playoffs. Motta would go on to win a championship as the head coach of the Bullets in 1977-78. 3. Billy Donovan, 400 Games
Donovan took over as the head coach of the Bulls in 2020-21, going 31-41 during his first season. The team went 46-36 the following year, making it to the playoffs. They would go on to be eliminated in the first round by the Bucks. That has been the only trip to the playoffs for the Bulls under Donovan, who is still currently coaching the team. He has a career regular season record of 195-205 with the Bulls. 4. Tom Thibodeau, 394 Games
Thibodeau began as an assistant coach in the NBA in 1989-90. His first head coaching opportunity came with the Bulls starting in 2010-11. The Bulls went 62-20 that season, helping Thibodeau win the Coach of the Year award. The Bulls had a winning record and made the playoffs in all five seasons under Thibodeau. However, they did not advance past the Eastern Conference Finals. He finished with a regular season record of 255-139 with the team and went 23-28 in the playoffs. 5. Scott Skiles, 337 Games
Skiles went 19-47 during his first season as the head coach of the Bulls in 2003-04. The team then made the playoffs in each of the next three seasons. The farthest that they advanced was the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2007. With the team starting off the 2007-08 season with a 9-16 record, Skiles was fired. He posted a 165-172 regular season record with the Bulls and went 10-12 in the playoffs.
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