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The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships from 1956 to 1966. The winner is selected at the end of the regular season by a panel of sportswriters from the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points; and each third-place vote is worth one point. The person with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.[1]
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Awarded for | Coach deemed most integral to their team's success in regular season of the National Basketball Association |
| History | |
| First award | 1962–63 |
| Most wins | Don Nelson Pat Riley Gregg Popovich (tied, 3) |
| Most recent | Mark Daigneault Oklahoma City Thunder |
Since its inception, the award has been given to 40 different coaches. The most recent award winner is current Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault. Gregg Popovich, Don Nelson and Pat Riley have each won the award three times, while Hubie Brown, Mike Brown, Mike Budenholzer, Mike D'Antoni, Bill Fitch, Cotton Fitzsimmons, Gene Shue, and Tom Thibodeau have each won it twice. No coach has won consecutive Coach of the Year awards. Riley is the only coach to be named Coach of the Year with three franchises.[2] Tom Heinsohn, Bill Sharman, and Lenny Wilkens are the only recipients to have been inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as both player and coach. Johnny Kerr is the only person to win the award with a losing record (33–48 with the Chicago Bulls in 1966–67). Kerr was honored because he had guided the Bulls to the NBA Playoffs in their first season in the league.[3] Doc Rivers is the only person to win the award despite his team not making the playoffs (41–41 with the Orlando Magic in 1999–2000). Only five recipients also coached the team that won the championship the same season: Red Auerbach, Red Holzman, Bill Sharman, Phil Jackson, and Gregg Popovich. Popovich is the only NBA Coach of the Year recipient to win the championship in the same season twice, winning the NBA title with the San Antonio Spurs in 2003 and 2014. 2020 winner and former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is the only coach to receive this honor in both the NBA and the NBA G League, having received the G League award in 2011.[4]
2015–16 recipient Steve Kerr only coached 39 of the 82 games in the season due to complications from offseason back surgery, though he received credit for all of the Golden State Warriors' 73 wins that season. Assistant coach Luke Walton served as interim head coach for the other 43 games for the Warriors, receiving one second-place vote and two third-place votes.[5] Kerr asked the league to award Walton with the wins accumulated during Kerr's medical recovery time, but the NBA refused to do so because under league rules interim head coaches do not have win-loss records at all. Mike Brown became the first unanimous Coach of the Year recipient in NBA history in the 2022–23 season.[6]
| ^ | Denotes head coach who is currently active in the NBA as a head coach |
| * | Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach |
| † | Denotes coach was a unanimous winner |
| Bold | Team won NBA championship for that season |
| Coach (#) | Denotes the number of times the coach has been selected |
| Team (#) | Denotes the number of times a coach from this team has won |
| W–L | Win–loss record for that season |
| Win% | Winning percentage for that season |
| Win% ± | Winning percentage change from previous season |
| Season | Coach | Nationality | Team | W–L | Win% | Win% ± |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962–63 | Harry Gallatin |  United States |
St. Louis Hawks | 48–32 | .600 | +.237 |
| 1963–64 | Alex Hannum* | United States |
San Francisco Warriors | 48–32 | .600 | +.212 |
| 1964–65 | Red Auerbach*[a] | United States |
Boston Celtics | 62–18 | .775 | +.037 |
| 1965–66 | Dolph Schayes | United States |
Philadelphia 76ers | 55–25 | .688 | +.188 |
| 1966–67 | Johnny Kerr | United States |
Chicago Bulls | 33–48 | .407 | – |
| 1967–68 | Richie Guerin | United States |
St. Louis Hawks (2) | 56–26 | .683 | +.202 |
| 1968–69 | Gene Shue | United States |
Baltimore Bullets | 57–25 | .695 | +.256 |
| 1969–70 | Red Holzman*[a] | United States |
New York Knicks | 60–22 | .732 | +.073 |
| 1970–71 | Dick Motta | United States |
Chicago Bulls (2) | 51–31 | .622 | +.146 |
| 1971–72 | Bill Sharman* | United States |
Los Angeles Lakers | 69–13 | .841 | +.256 |
| 1972–73 | Tom Heinsohn* | United States |
Boston Celtics (2) | 68–14 | .829 | +.146 |
| 1973–74 | Ray Scott | United States |
Detroit Pistons | 52–30 | .634 | +.146 |
| 1974–75 | Phil Johnson | United States |
Kansas City–Omaha Kings | 44–38 | .537 | +.135 |
| 1975–76 | Bill Fitch*[a] | United States |
Cleveland Cavaliers | 49–33 | .598 | +.110 |
| 1976–77 | Tom Nissalke | United States |
Houston Rockets | 49–33 | .598 | +.110 |
| 1977–78 | Hubie Brown | United States |
Atlanta Hawks (3) | 41–41 | .500 | +.122 |
| 1978–79 | Cotton Fitzsimmons* | United States |
Kansas City Kings (2) | 48–34 | .585 | +.207 |
| 1979–80 | Bill Fitch*[a] (2) | United States |
Boston Celtics (3) | 61–21 | .744 | +.390 |
| 1980–81 | Jack McKinney | United States |
Indiana Pacers | 44–38 | .537 | +.086 |
| 1981–82 | Gene Shue (2) | United States |
Washington Bullets (2) | 43–39 | .524 | +.048 |
| 1982–83 | Don Nelson*[a] | United States |
Milwaukee Bucks | 51–31 | .622 | -.049 |
| 1983–84 | Frank Layden | United States |
Utah Jazz | 45–37 | .549 | +.183 |
| 1984–85 | Don Nelson*[a] (2) | United States |
Milwaukee Bucks (2) | 59–23 | .720 | +.110 |
| 1985–86 | Mike Fratello | United States |
Atlanta Hawks (4) | 50–32 | .610 | +.195 |
| 1986–87 | Mike Schuler | United States |
Portland Trail Blazers | 49–33 | .598 | +.110 |
| 1987–88 | Doug Moe | United States |
Denver Nuggets | 54–28 | .659 | +.208 |
| 1988–89 | Cotton Fitzsimmons* (2) | United States |
Phoenix Suns | 55–27 | .671 | +.330 |
| 1989–90 | Pat Riley*[a] | United States |
Los Angeles Lakers (2) | 63–19 | .768 | +.073 |
| 1990–91 | Don Chaney | United States |
Houston Rockets (2) | 52–30 | .634 | +.134 |
| 1991–92 | Don Nelson*[a] (3) | United States |
Golden State Warriors (2) | 55–27 | .671 | +.134 |
| 1992–93 | Pat Riley*[a] (2) | United States |
New York Knicks (2) | 60–22 | .732 | +.110 |
| 1993–94 | Lenny Wilkens*[a] | United States |
Atlanta Hawks (5) | 57–25 | .695 | +.171 |
| 1994–95 | Del Harris | United States |
Los Angeles Lakers (3) | 48–34 | .585 | +.183 |
| 1995–96 | Phil Jackson*[a] | United States |
Chicago Bulls (3) | 72–10 | .878 | +.305 |
| 1996–97 | Pat Riley*[a] (3) | United States |
Miami Heat | 61–21 | .744 | +.232 |
| 1997–98 | Larry Bird | United States |
Indiana Pacers (2) | 58–24 | .707 | +.231 |
| 1998–99 | Mike Dunleavy | United States |
Portland Trail Blazers (2) | 35–15 | .700 | +.139 |
| 1999–00 | Doc Rivers^ | United States |
Orlando Magic | 41–41 | .500 | -.160 |
| 2000–01 | Larry Brown* | United States |
Philadelphia 76ers (2) | 56–26 | .683 | +.085 |
| 2001–02 | Rick Carlisle^ | United States |
Detroit Pistons (2) | 50–32 | .610 | +.220 |
| 2002–03 | Gregg Popovich^* | United States |
San Antonio Spurs | 60–22 | .732 | +.025 |
| 2003–04 | Hubie Brown (2) | United States |
Memphis Grizzlies | 50–32 | .610 | +.269 |
| 2004–05 | Mike D'Antoni | United States Italy[b] |
Phoenix Suns (2) | 62–20 | .756 | +.402 |
| 2005–06 | Avery Johnson | United States |
Dallas Mavericks | 60–22 | .732 | +.025 |
| 2006–07 | Sam Mitchell | United States |
Toronto Raptors | 47–35 | .573 | +.244 |
| 2007–08 | Byron Scott | United States |
New Orleans Hornets | 56–26 | .683 | +.207 |
| 2008–09 | Mike Brown^ | United States |
Cleveland Cavaliers (2) | 66–16 | .805 | +.256 |
| 2009–10 | Scott Brooks | United States |
Oklahoma City Thunder | 50–32 | .610 | +.330 |
| 2010–11 | Tom Thibodeau^ | United States |
Chicago Bulls (4) | 62–20 | .756 | +.256 |
| 2011–12 | Gregg Popovich^* (2) | United States |
San Antonio Spurs (2) | 50–16 | .758 | +.014 |
| 2012–13 | George Karl* | United States |
Denver Nuggets (2) | 57–25 | .695 | +.119 |
| 2013–14 | Gregg Popovich^* (3) | United States |
San Antonio Spurs (3) | 62–20 | .756 | +.049 |
| 2014–15 | Mike Budenholzer^ | United States |
Atlanta Hawks (6) | 60–22 | .732 | +.269 |
| 2015–16 | Steve Kerr^ | United States |
Golden State Warriors (3) | 73–9 | .890 | +.073 |
| 2016–17 | Mike D'Antoni (2) | United States Italy[b] |
Houston Rockets (3) | 55–27 | .671 | +.171 |
| 2017–18 | Dwane Casey | United States |
Toronto Raptors (2) | 59–23 | .720 | +.098 |
| 2018–19 | Mike Budenholzer^ (2) | United States |
Milwaukee Bucks (3) | 60–22 | .732 | +.195 |
| 2019–20 | Nick Nurse^ | United States |
Toronto Raptors (3) | 46–18[c] | .719 | +.012 |
| 2020–21 | Tom Thibodeau^ (2) | United States |
New York Knicks (3) | 41–31 | .569 | +.251 |
| 2021–22 | Monty Williams^ | United States |
Phoenix Suns (3) | 64–18 | .780 | +.072 |
| 2022–23 | Mike Brown^ † (2) | United States |
Sacramento Kings (3) | 48–34 | .585 | +.219 |
| 2023–24 | Mark Daigneault^ | United States |
Oklahoma City Thunder (2) | 57–25 | .695 | +.207 |
| Awards | Coach | Team(s) | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Don Nelson | Milwaukee Bucks (2), Golden State Warriors (1) | 1983, 1985, 1992 |
| Pat Riley | Los Angeles Lakers (1), New York Knicks (1), Miami Heat (1) | 1990, 1993, 1997 | |
| Gregg Popovich | San Antonio Spurs | 2003, 2012, 2014 | |
| 2 | Gene Shue | Baltimore Bullets (1), Washington Bullets (1) | 1969, 1982 |
| Bill Fitch | Cleveland Cavaliers (1), Boston Celtics (1) | 1976, 1980 | |
| Hubie Brown | Atlanta Hawks (1), Memphis Grizzlies (1) | 1978, 2004 | |
| Cotton Fitzsimmons | Kansas City Kings (1), Phoenix Suns (1) | 1979, 1989 | |
| Mike D'Antoni | Phoenix Suns (1), Houston Rockets (1) | 2005, 2017 | |
| Mike Budenholzer | Atlanta Hawks (1), Milwaukee Bucks (1) | 2015, 2019 | |
| Tom Thibodeau | Chicago Bulls (1), New York Knicks (1) | 2011, 2021 | |
| Mike Brown | Cleveland Cavaliers (1), Sacramento Kings (1) | 2009, 2023 |
- NBA records
Sports portal- NBCA Coach of the Year Award, awarded by NBA coaches' union
- NBL (United States) Coach of the Year Award
- Was selected as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History[7]
- D'Antoni also holds Italian citizenship and has represented Italy at international level.[8]
- Record reflects games played before the NBA suspended its 2019–20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the season resumed on July 30, 2020, the NBA announced that voting for that season's awards would be based solely on games played before the season was halted.[4]
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