Brad Stevens finished a respectable fourth Tuesday in voting for the NBA’s Coach of the Year Award, coming in behind Jason Kidd, Steve Kerr and winner Mike Budenholzer.
It was interesting, however, to see which coach finished directly behind the Boston Celtics boss after the final votes had been tallied. That would be San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, a three-time Coach of the Year whom Stevens has showered with praise on numerous occasions this season.
Popovich earned more first-place votes than Stevens (3-2), but Stevens owned a 50-38 edge in total vote scoring.
The second-year C’s coach did not agree with that outcome.
“That’s bad voting,” Stevens told reporters Tuesday ahead of his team’s Game 2 playoff matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Stevens led the Celtics to a 15-win improvement and a playoff berth this season. Popovich’s defending champion Spurs, meanwhile, finished sixth in the loaded Western Conference but were dominant in the second half of the season, winning 21 of their final 25 regular-season games.
Thumbnail photo via Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports Images
