Category: Finance | Title: Larry Brown Teams Coached: NBA and ABA Career Summary | Tag: Larry Brown | Meta Description: A factual overview of every team Larry Brown coached in the NBA and ABA, with records, tenures, and key achievements...
Larry Brown NBA and ABA Coaching Record
Larry Brown coached 14 NBA teams and 1 ABA franchise across a career spanning from 1972 to 2024. His head coaching record includes 1,275 regular season wins and 1,065 losses, plus 11 playoff series victories. He is the only coach in North American major pro sports history to win championships in both the NBA and ABA. He led the New York Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals and won the 2004 NBA title with the Detroit Pistons. Brown also guided the Kansas Jayhawks to the 1988 NCAA championship before moving to the professional ranks NBA official coaching record.
His longest single tenure was with the New Jersey Nets from 2009 to 2010, where he coached 127 games over two seasons. He also spent two separate stints with the New York Knicks, first from 1982 to 1987 and again from 1992 to 1998. Brown coached the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Bobcats, Los Angeles Clippers, and Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA. In the ABA, he led the New Orleans Buccaneers, Oakland Oaks, Washington Capitals, and Denver Rockets Basketball Reference Larry Brown page.
Championships and Playoff Appearances
Brown won the 1988 NCAA tournament with Kansas and the 2004 NBA championship with Detroit. He reached the NBA Finals twice, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 1999 and defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004. His teams qualified for the NBA playoffs 13 times, including five trips with the Knicks and four with the Pacers. He coached in 10 NBA All-Star Games and earned three NBA Coach of the Year runner-up finishes Forbes coaching legacy analysis.
The 2004 Detroit Pistons roster under Brown featured Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, Rip Hamilton, and Tayshaun Prince. That team defeated the heavily favored Lakers in the Finals in a five-game series. Brown also reached the ABA Finals in 1969 with the Oakland Oaks and won the 1976 ABA championship with the New York Nets. His combined ABA and NBA playoff winning percentage stands at 46.8 percent, above the league average for coaches with similar tenure ESPN coaching timeline.
Teams Coached and Tenure Dates
Brown began his head coaching career with the New Orleans Buccaneers in 1972. He later coached the Oakland Oaks, Washington Capitals, and Denver Rockets in the ABA before joining the NBA with the Denver Nuggets in 1976. His NBA coaching stops include the New Jersey Nets, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Charlotte Bobcats, Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, and Detroit Pistons. He returned to the Knicks in 2024 as head coach, making him the oldest active NBA head coach at the time