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Chuck Daly coached 738 during his 8-year span as coach of the Detroit Pistons
The Pistons have had a number of great coaches patrolling the sidelines throughout their 77-year history in the Association. We’ve compiled a list of Detroit’s top 5 bench bosses in terms of games coached, so let’s take a further look at their tenures in Michigan.
Chuck Daly – 738 games (1984-1992)
The legendary Daly holds the top spot on Motown’s list after spending nine seasons (1983 – 1992) as the head coach of the Pistons in the Bad Boys era. The Hall of Famer compiled a 467-271 record during the regular season, earning at least 46 wins and finishing well over .500 in each of those campaigns. Daly added another 113 postseason contests to his storied resume after making the playoffs every year, highlighted by leading the Pistons to back-to-back NBA titles in 1989 and 1990. He is still the longest tenured and winningest coach in Detroit’s franchise history, and was awarded as one of the 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA history at the league’s 75th anniversary celebration in the 2021-22 season.
Dwane Casey – 384 games (2019-2023)
Casey, the most recent entry on this list, spent five seasons as the head coach of the Pistons from 2019 – 2023, where he collected a 121-263 record. Detroit’s best year with Casey at the helm came in 2018-19, his first season with the organization, when they finished with a 41-41 mark and made their lone postseason appearance during his tenure. Throughout the next four seasons, the Pistons never won more than 23 games and were 17-65 in 2022-23. Casey resigned from his position following that campaign, which was his last coaching gig in the NBA to date.
Stan Van Gundy – 328 games (2015-2018)
Similar to Casey, Stan Van Gundy’s tenure in the Motor City saw the Pistons make the postseason once in his four seasons as head coach from 2014 – 2018. SVG put together a 152-176 record in Detroit, with their 44-38 finish in 2015-16 representing the best individual campaign of his time there. The Pistons won at least 32 games each year with Van Gundy calling the shots, but he was let go in 2018 after failing to make a return to the playoffs over his last two seasons.
Ray Scott – 281 games (1973-1976)
Ray Scott holds down the fourth spot on our list, as he coached 281 games for the Pistons between 1973 and 1976. He joins Chuck Daly as the only two coaches in this top 5 to earn a winning record during his time in Michigan, collecting a 147-134 mark across four seasons. A former first round selection by Detroit in the 1961 NBA Draft (No. 4 overall), Scott spent five and a half seasons of his 11-year career with the Pistons and averaged 16.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 421 appearances. The Philly native won the Coach of the Year award after leading Detroit to a 52-30 record in 1973-74.
Dick McGuire – 280 games (1960-1963)
The fifth and final spot belongs to Dick McGuire, another former player who spent three seasons with Detroit from 1957 – 1960. During the 1959-60 campaign, McGuire’s last year as a player in the league, he took over as acting head coach for the final 41 games before moving into a full-time coaching position the following season. In his three and a half years as the bench boss of the Pistons, McGuire amassed a 122-158 record while leading the franchise to postseason berths every year from 1960 to 1963. His best season came in 1961-62, when Detroit went 37-43 and won their only playoff series during his tenure.
