The NBA’s Shortest Leash: Why Coaches Are Now Disposable

The league has shifted from what have you done to what have you done lately, and its coaches have less room for error than ever before

Hall of Fame basketball coach Al McGuire once said of the coaching profession, “It’s a profession in which, the longer you stay, the closer you are to being fired.” That statement has never felt more true than it does today in the NBA. Since the beginning of the playoffs, we have seen the following coaches be shown the door: Nick Nurse, Mike Budenholzer, Monty Williams, and Doc Rivers. All 4 of these coaches have experienced success with Coach of the Year honors and some have won NBA titles. But the NBA is becoming a “what have you done for me lately”, and coaches are perhaps more disposable than they have ever been.

The Trouble With Parity

This year the NBA has been applauded for having the most wide-open field to win a championship in many years. There is no dynasty currently, even the number one seed Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference has been considered a beatable team by many during the season. We have seen evidence of this as the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks lost to an…