# List of Denver Nuggets head coaches

The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Nuggets were founded as the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1967. In 1974, in anticipation of moving to the NBA, the franchise held a contest to choose a new trademarked name for the team, as Rockets was already in use by the Houston Rockets and the name Nuggets won. In 1976, the ABA folded, and the NBA decided to admit four ABA teams into the league, including the Nuggets, the San Antonio Spurs, the Indiana Pacers and the New York Nets.
There have been 22 head coaches for the Nuggets franchise. The franchise's first head coach was Bob Bass, who led the team to the division semifinals, losing to the New Orleans Buccaneers. Doug Moe (1988) and George Karl (2013) are the only Nuggets coaches to win the NBA Coach of the Year Award. Michael Malone is the franchise's all-time leader in both regular season and playoff wins. Larry Brown & George Karl are the only Nuggets coaches to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, although John McLendon was inducted as a contributor, but not a coach. In 1976, Brown coached the Nuggets to the team's only ABA championship game. John McLendon, Joe Belmont, Donnie Walsh, Dan Issel, Bill Hanzlik, Mike Evans, Jeff Bzdelik, Michael Cooper, and Brian Shaw spent their entire NBA coaching careers with the Nuggets.Michael Malone is the current head coach.

## Key

| GC | Games coached |
| W | Wins |
| L | Losses |
| Win% | Winning percentage |
| # | Number of coaches |
| * | Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Nuggets |
| † | Elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach |

## Coaches

Note: Statistics are correct of the 2024–25 season.
| # | Name | Term | GC | W | L | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | Achievements |
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | | Achievements | Reference |
| Denver Rockets |||||||||||||
| 1 | Bob Bass | 1967–1969 | 156 | 89 | 67 | .571 | 12 | 5 | 7 | .417 | |
| 2 | John McLendon* | 1969 | 28 | 9 | 19 | .321 | — | — | — | — | |
| 3 | Joe Belmont* | 1969–1970 | 69 | 45 | 24 | .652 | 12 | 5 | 7 | .417 | |
| 4 | Stan Albeck | 1970–1971 | 71 | 27 | 44 | .380 | — | — | — | — | |
| 5 | Alex Hannum | 1971–1974 | 252 | 118 | 134 | .468 | 12 | 4 | 8 | .333 | |
| Denver Nuggets |||||||||||||
| 6 | Larry Brown† | 1974–1979 | 385 | 251 | 134 | .652 | 45 | 21 | 24 | .467 | Led team to and lost 1975–76 ABA Finals |
| 7 | Donnie Walsh* | 1979–1980 | 142 | 60 | 82 | .423 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | |
| 8 | Doug Moe | 1980–1990 | 789 | 432 | 357 | .548 | 61 | 24 | 37 | .393 | 1987–88 NBA Coach of the Year |
| 9 | Paul Westhead | 1990–1992 | 164 | 44 | 120 | .268 | — | — | — | — | |
| 10 | Dan Issel* | 1992–1995 | 198 | 96 | 102 | .485 | 12 | 6 | 6 | .500 | |
| 11 | Gene Littles | 1995 | 16 | 3 | 13 | .188 | — | — | — | — | |
| 12 | Bernie Bickerstaff | 1995–1996 | 127 | 59 | 68 | .465 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 13 | Dick Motta | 1996–1997 | 69 | 17 | 52 | .246 | — | — | — | — | |
| 14 | Bill Hanzlik* | 1997–1998 | 82 | 11 | 71 | .134 | — | — | — | — | |
| 15 | Mike D'Antoni | 1998–1999 | 50 | 14 | 36 | .280 | — | — | — | — | |
| — | Dan Issel* | 1999–2001 | 190 | 84 | 106 | .442 | — | — | — | — | |
| 16 | Mike Evans* | 2001–2002 | 56 | 18 | 38 | .321 | — | — | — | — | |
| 17 | Jeff Bzdelik* | 2002–2004 | 192 | 73 | 119 | .380 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | |
| 18 | Michael Cooper* | 2004 | 14 | 4 | 10 | .286 | — | — | — | — | |
| 19 | George Karl† | 2004–2013 | 680 | 423 | 257 | .622 | 59 | 21 | 38 | .356 | 2012–13 NBA Coach of the Year |
| 20 | Brian Shaw* | 2013–2015 | 141 | 56 | 85 | .397 | — | — | — | — | |
| 21 | Melvin Hunt* | 2015 | 23 | 10 | 13 | .435 | — | — | — | — | |
| 22 | Michael Malone | 2015–present | 762 | 451 | 311 | .590 | 68 | 37 | 31 | .544 | NBA championship (2023) |
* Mike D'Antoni coached the Denver Nuggets for 50 games during the 1998–99 NBA season.
* George Karl was the 2004–2013 Denver Nuggets head coach.
* Brian Shaw was the 2013–2015 Denver Nuggets head coach.
* Michael Malone has been the Denver Nuggets head coach since 2015.