Who are the youngest coaches to win the NBA title?

At 35, Joe Mazzulla is one of the youngest coaches to win the NBA title. Where does he p among the other fresh-faced first-time winners?

Andy HallUpdate: Jun 18th, 2024 06:48 EDT0

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Boston Celtics lifted the NBA trophy at TD Garden on Monday night and made history in the process – with 18 titles to their name, they have won the tournament more than any other franchise in history. It was also a landmark moment for head coach Joe Mazzulla. At 35, the Rhode Island-born tactician secured his first major title and becomes one of the youngest coaches ever to be crowned an NBA champion.

Coach Mazzulla: “There’s a gap right there and I look at that every National Anthem… and there’s another one right up there.” 👀🏆 pic.twitter.com/nmORWGz3ah

— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 18, 2024

NBA head coaches: who are the youngest first-time winners?

Buddy Jeannette was just 30 years old when he won the 1948 BAA Finals in his first season as a player-coach with the Baltimore Bullets. The Bullets defeated the Philadelphia Warriors, winning the series 4-2 with Buddy ending as the team’s fourth top scorer with an average of 8.8 points per game. One of basketball’s early pioneers, he was considered on the best backcourt players of his day. He retired from playing in 1950 to focus on his coaching career at Georgetown University, returning to the Bullets for one season in an interim role in 1964. He was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1994 and passed away aged 80 in 1998.

Jeanette won his first title less than two years after the Basketball Association of America (BAA) had been founded. And with professional basketball still in its infancy, it’s hardly surprising that another young coach guided his team to lift the third edition of the recently-formed tournament. John Kundla was at the helm when the Minneapolis Lakers beat the Washington Capitols 4-2 to clinch the title in 1949. Kundla was 32 and had only been coaching for three years when he won the first of five NBA championships with the Lakers – the glamour team of 1950s basketball.

The youngest coaches to win the NBA title

Harry “Buddy” Jeannette (30): Baltimore Bullets 4–2 Philadelphia Warriors (1948)John Kundla (32): Minneapolis Lakers 4-2 Washington Capitols (1949)George Senesky (34): Fort Wayne Pistons 1-4 Philadelphia Warriors (1956)Bill Russell (34): Los Angeles Lakers 2-4 Boston Celtics (1968)Alex Hannum (34): St. Louis Hawks 4-2 Boston Celtics (1958)Joe Mazzulla (35): Dallas Mavericks 1-4 Boston Celtics (2024)Pat Riley (37): Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 Philadelphia 76ers (1982)Al Cervi (38): Syracuse Nationals 3-4 Fort Wayne Pistons    (1955)Al Attles (38): Golden State Warriors 4-0 Washington Bullets (1975)Tyronn Lue (39): Golden State Warriors 3-4 Cleveland Cavaliers (2016)

In Memoriam: Remembering the NBA's first great coach: Hall of Famer John Kundla who coached the NBA's first dynasty: The Minneapolis @Lakers pic.twitter.com/oWJly8gpSr

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) July 25, 2017

1/2 NBA Title/1st YR HC: Eddie Gottlieb ('47-photo-far right) John Kundla (1949) George Senesky (1956) pic.twitter.com/n4hKjMR1TO

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) June 1, 2016

During his 11 years in Minneapolis, Kundla ended with a record of 423–302 and for the next part of the next decade, continued his coaching career at the University of Minnesota. He was named as of the 10 greatest coaches in NBA history when the league celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1996. Kundla lived a long and full life, spending his final days in a Minneapolis nursing home where he died aged 101 in July 2017.

In 1968, Bill Russell became the first professional basketball player to be named @SInow Sportsman of the Year. The award is given to those who make extraordinary contributions to society through sports 6️⃣💚 pic.twitter.com/bYfWb0EhHf

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) August 25, 2022

The third player on the list is George Senesky who oversaw the Philadelphia Warriors 1-4 series win over the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1956, at the age of 34. Senesky had been part of the team that played in the first two BAA Finals (winning the second edition in 1947) with the Warriors and went into coaching two years after his retirement from playing, replacing Eddie Gottlieb. He led the Eastern All-Stars in the sixth edition of the NBA All-Star Game in 1956. Senesky finished his coaching career with a record of 119–97 (.551).