NBA Awards: Coach of the Year
Dylan Jackson (DJ) – Monty Williams, Phoenix Suns
The level of improvement that the Phoenix Suns have undergone this season has been spectacular. They have one of the best benches in the NBA and a legitimate big-3 in Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, and Chris Paul. A lot of their success has been because of the player development over the course of the past 12 months – with Paul being the guy that put them over the top. Williams is a no-brainer for me, although the argument for Snyder is certainly there.
Paul Langan (PL) – Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are tied with the Phoenix Suns for the best record in the NBA and Quin Snyder is a big reason why they have been so successful. The Jazz don’t necessarily have an elite top 10 player on their roster so the fact that they have been so successful without a player on that elite level is impressive. Players like Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are good, but it seems like Snyder has done a good job maximizing the talent of all the players on the roster.
Phil Ford (PF)– Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks
Speaking of Tom Thibodeau, he has what was supposed to be a trainwreck of a roster playing as if they’re the ’90s Knicks. Thibs has brought his rough and tumble defensive mantra to the Big Apple and everyone has bought in. The Knicks have the fourth-best defensive rating in the league this season. They were 23rd a year ago before Thibodeau took the reins. Many of us were skeptical of Thibodeau after seeing how it all ended two years ago in Minnesota, but he has the Knicks playing their best basketball in a decade. It makes you wonder, perhaps Thibs wasn’t the problem after all, and maybe, just maybe, The Wolves are the most dysfunctional franchise in the NBA… nah.
Buck Wallert (BW) – Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz
Since coaching the Jazz, Snyder has increased his teams win percentage every season but one. This season he has the Jazz sitting at .721 and the top team in the league, with all three of their top players missing time. If we look at this at a pure expectation point, ESPN had the Jazz slated at 4th in the West with only 40.8 wins.
Bradshaw Furlong (BF) – Monty Williams, Phoenix Suns
I’d give part of this award to Chris Paul if I could but Williams deserves a ton of credit for putting the pieces that GM James Jones gave him together. I think everyone expected the Suns to be a playoff team this year, but certainly not a top three team by net rating. They’ve forced their way into the championship discussion and for that, Williams should be rewarded.
FINAL COUNT: Monty Williams 2, Quin Snyder 2, Tom Thibodeau 1