There is less than a month remaining in the regular season, which means we’ve seen enough to start ranking the NBA’s Coach of the Year candidates.
Steve Kerr was last year’s winner after leading the Golden State Warriors to the best record in NBA history. This year’s winner won’t be able to match that, but they have done a fine job nonetheless guiding their respective teams this season. Here are the top six Coach of the Year candidates ranked from sixth to first:
6. Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz
In only his second season as a head coach in the NBA, Snyder has guided the Jazz to the fourth-best record in the Western Conference, this after three straight losing seasons in Utah. Barring anything drastic, the Jazz will make the playoffs for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
It’s worth noting that Snyder wasn’t blessed with greatest of rosters either. Besides All-Star forward Gordon Hayward and maybe center Rudy Gobert, the Jazz don’t have any big-name players. That’s a testament to the job Snyder has done this season.
5. Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics
The Celtics have consistently improved under Stevens, and in a short amount of time no less. But this season has been especially impressive.
Not only are the Celtics chasing the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, but they’ve done so while dealing with injuries to several starters. Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Al Horford and Jae Crowder all missed time with various injuries, leaving the Celtics short-handed for much of the season. But Stevens and the team fought through it, and now it’s looking like they will finish with their highest seeding since the 2011-12 season.
4. Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs
Popovich is a three-time winner of Coach of the Year and might be looking at his fourth award after this season. How does a team with so many veterans past the age of 30, some of them close to 40, win over 50 games? It just doesn’t seem possible, but for years Popovich has found a way to get the best out of his players, even the older ones.
Not to mention San Antonio ranks first in defensive efficiency and second in points allowed per game (98.4). That’s tough to do while playing in a loaded Western Conference with teams like Golden State and Houston putting up an insane amount of points this season.
3. Mike D’Antoni, Houston Rockets
D’Antoni’s head coaching career is back on track after some forgettable seasons in New York and Los Angeles. The former Coach of the Year has the Rockets playing fast and scoring in bunches like his old Phoenix Suns teams used to do back in the day. In fact, this year’s Rockets team is averaging more points per game (115.5) than any of D’Antoni’s Suns teams did when they led the league in scoring for three straight seasons.
Plus, D’Antoni is getting major props for unleashing James Harden’s potential by moving him to point guard this season. The Beard is strongly in the running for MVP with averages of 29.4 points, 11.2 assists and 8.4 rebounds. A D’Antoni-coached team hasn’t gotten past the first round of the playoffs since the 2006-07 season, but this Rockets team has the potential to go deep in the postseason.
2. Scott Brooks, Washington Wizards
Brooks is another former Coach of the Year who has found success elsewhere. After serving as the longtime head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 51-year-old took a year off to be with his family, then returned to coaching with the Wizards.
Washington looked doomed from the start after going 5-10 through the first month of the season, but the Wizards turned things around by late December and kicked off the month of January with 12 wins in 16 games. Now, Washington is in third place in the Eastern Conference, and the Wizards are a legitimate threat to the Cavaliers.
Usually, when a team hires a new head coach, it takes a few seasons to get adjusted. But Brooks has the Wizards contending in Year 1 and that’s really impressive, especially after stepping away from coaching for the entire 2015-16 season.
1. Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat
When Miami had the Big 3, Spoelstra didn’t get a lot of credit for leading the Heat to four straight Finals appearances and two championships. With LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the roster, Miami was expected to go to the Finals every year.
Fast forward to a couple of years later and the Heat have zero All-Stars after having one of the best trios in NBA history. This season looked to be a rebuilding year for Miami, which had gone 11-30 by mid-January. But Spoelstra’s squad ripped off 13 straight wins and climbed back into the playoff race out of nowhere. Those who doubted the legitimacy of Spoelstra being a good coach have been proven wrong by the 46-year-old’s quick turnaround this season.
TNT analyst and Hall of Fame player Reggie Miller said in a tweet Thursday that his pick for Coach of the Year is Spoelstra.
My Coach of the Year vote goes to Erik Spoelstra, especially if the Heat end up making Playoffs.. Miami had to reinvent themselves..
— Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) March 23, 2017
Yes Brad Stevens, Mike D'Antoni and Quinn Snyder, strong candidates as well, but they are working with All Stars and potential MVP's..
— Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) March 23, 2017
If the Heat can manage to hold onto the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, that should seal it for Spoelstra. No disrespect to the other candidates, but Spoelstra just had it tougher this season, and he did more with a lot less than other coaches.
About Marcelo Villa
Marcelo is an associate editor at The Sports Daily, and has covered the San Diego Chargers for Bleacher Report. He also writes for Sportsdirect Inc.
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