A 15-win improvement and a playoff spot were not enough to earn NBA Coach of the Year honors for Brad Stevens.
The Boston Celtics head coach finished fourth in the voting, with Atlanta Hawks bench boss Mike Budenholzer winning the award. Budenholzer’s honor was well-deserved, as the second-year coach led the Hawks to a franchise-record 60 wins and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Steve Kerr, under whom the Golden State Warriors vaulted from sixth in the Western Conference last season to the top record in the NBA this season, was second. In his first season with the Milwaukee Bucks, Jason Kidd was third, although Stevens and San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich received more first-place votes.
Voting was held among 130 sportswriters and broadcasters in North America. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
The complete list, with total vote scoring, appears below (first-place votes in parentheses).
Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta: 513 (67)
Steve Kerr, Golden State: 471 (56)
Jason Kidd, Milwaukee: 57 (1)
Brad Stevens, Boston: 50 (2)
Gregg Popovich, San Antonio: 38 (3)
Kevin McHale, Houston: 13
Tom Thibodeau, Chicago: 10 (1)
Quin Snyder, Utah: 7
David Blatt, Cleveland: 3
Doc Rivers, L.A. Clippers: 2
Terry Stotts, Portland: 2
Rick Carlisle, Dallas: 1
Dwayne Casey, Toronto: 1
Jeff Hornacek, Phoenix: 1
Monty Williams, New Orleans: 1
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
