Who Is the Greatest Phoenix Suns Head Coach Ever?

The Phoenix Suns sent another high-profile former member of the organization to the Naismith Hall of Fame over the weekend. 

Mike D'Antoni was officially inducted into Springfield on Saturday as a contributor to the game after coaching Phoenix from 2002-08. The 2005 NBA Coach of the Year is now immortalized as a basketball legend - and it raises a challenging question to answer.

Who is the greatest coach to grace the sidelines for the Suns organization?

D'Antoni is firmly in this conversation, as he ranks third in franchise history in victories (253), and second in winning percentage (.650). This is also under the backdrop of D'antoni changing the way basketball is played and placing Phoenix in a position to win a title despite roadblocks that ultimately prevented this.

John MacLeod is Phoenix's all-time winningest coach (579) and took the Suns to their first finals in 1976. The Ring of Honor member led Phoenix through challenging times as a young franchise and transformed the franchise into a consistent playoff fixture. 

Cotton Fitzsimmons is an enduring figure in the history of Phoenix. He won Coach of the Year (1989) and coached Phoenix in three different decades. He is likely the most closely aligned with the franchise as time goes on.

Paul Westphal led the Suns to their second NBA Finals appearance in 1993, putting together one of the best individual seasons in franchise history in that year. His tenure happened to be relatively short, but the impact that the former Phoenix star made as a coach cannot be denied.

Lastly, Monty Williams has to be mentioned as a modern-day example despite his tenure being fairly short as well. The situation that Williams entered into has to earn him favor, as he took over a 19-win team in 2019. The newfound culture that Williams installed resulted in Devin Booker taking a massive leap forward. This invited a trade for point guard Chris Paul, which in turn lifted Phoenix up to a 51-win team in 2020-21. Williams also holds the single-season victories total (64), and played an instrumental role in rising stars such as Mikal Bridges making marked leaps forward. 

All five of these coaches hold a special place in the history of the Suns, but D'Antoni is likely the best in the overarching history of the NBA. The title of greatest is a different conversation, where Williams, Fitzsimmons, and Westphal are pining for the ultimate title.