More often than not, the NBA superstar athlete is unable to translate the success he had on the floor onto either the sidelines or front office. There are exceptions to this rule, such as Pat Riley, Bill Russell, KC Jones or Rudy Tomjanovich, but for the most part, top-tier players have had difficulty leading their teams from the bench as easily as they did when they were in uniform. Imagine Coach Jordan condemning a player for not dropping forty a night. It’d be like Mozart asking a pupil to compose the perfect symphony. They simply expect too much.
The best coaches are generally the more cerebral, fringe players, if they ever even played at all. Phil Jackson averaged seven points and four rebounds over his career but he’s the winningest coach of both the Chicago Bulls AND the Los Angeles Lakers. Red Auerbach never played a minute in the league.
One would think the greatest players ever would be able to at least scout talent, yet time and again they’ve proven woefully inadequate when it comes to building a championship franchise.
Five perennial all-stars come to mind, ferocious on the court but inept in the front office. Accordingly, here’s sportschump.net’s list of Five Best (Players) to Worst (GM’s).
