This season, the NBA’s Coach of the Year Award went to the man in charge of the NBA’s best team.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr took home the honor Tuesday, garnering 64 of 130 first-place votes and 381 voting points overall.
The defending champion Warriors set an NBA record for wins during their 73-9 regular season, surpassing the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls’ mark of 72. Golden State assistant Luke Walton, who served as interim head coach early in the season while Kerr recovered from back surgery, also received one second-place vote and two third-place votes.
Finishing second in the voting was Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, who led his team to a surprising fifth-place finish in the Western Conference after losing LaMarcus Aldridge and a host of other contributors last summer. Three-time Coach of the Year Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs finished third, followed by the Charlotte Hornets’ Steve Clifford and the Toronto Raptors’ Dwane Casey.
Coming in a surprising sixth place was Brad Stevens, whose Boston Celtics posted their best winning percentage since 2011-12 in Stevens’ third season behind the bench. The 48-34 Celtics finished in a four-way tie for third place in the Eastern Conference but entered the playoffs as the No. 5 seed after losing tiebreakers to the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks.
Stevens, who finished fourth in voting last season, garnered 10 first-place votes.
Thumbnail photo via Russ Isabella/USA TODAY Sports Images
