Who's The Greatest Coach In Toronto Raptors History?

In this series, we’ll take a look at the illustrious list of head coaches in each NBA franchise’s history. To make a case for ‘greatest coach,’ we’ll look at win-loss record, player development, and (most importantly) team accomplishments under that coach’s tutelage.

There have only been 10 head coaches in the history of the Toronto Raptors franchise, who entered the NBA in 1995.

For the past three decades, the fervent fanbase in the Great White North has enjoyed watching the hardcourt feats of high-flying athletes, Swiss Army knives, and even a Terminator-like Finals MVP. Amidst these entertaining sights, a strong lineup of tacticians has helped the Raptors put up a good fight in the NBA for years.

Even music megastar Drake couldn’t resist giving a friendly message to a top-tier Raptors head coach. The question is, was Champagne Papi anointing this man as the greatest coach of his beloved Toronto squad?

This conversation boils down to a debate surrounding the only three men to win Coach of the Year while calling the shots for the Raptors. The first individual to do this was Sam Mitchell, who was at the helm from 2004 to 2008. Mitchell, who spent 10 seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves during his playing career, racked up 156 regular season victories with the likes of Chris Bosh, T.J. Ford, Jose Calderon, and Andrea Bargnani.

The next Raptors coach to bag the Coach of the Year award is also the individual who holds the record for most regular season wins with the franchise. That man is Dwane Casey, whose win-loss record in Toronto is 320-238. Toronto’s beloved duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan flourished under Casey’s leadership.

The latest Coach of the Year awardee produced by the Raptors franchise is Nick Nurse. He accomplished this feat in 2020 with a roster powered by Lowry, Fred VanVleet, and Marc Gasol. The year before, Nurse got to work with Kawhi Leonard, and the result was the first NBA title in Raptors history.

Nurse gets the nod as the greatest Raptors coach ever. With 227 regular season wins and an NBA championship on his resume, he has a particularly strong case.