The NBA Coaches Association has named Mike D’Antoni and Erik Spoelstra as the co-recipients of its inaugural Coach of the Year award.
For the first time ever, the NBA Coaches Association will have its own award. This season has seen a lot of impressive jobs on the bench. Scott Brooks got the Wizards to wake up and be one of the most dominant teams in the league. How dominant were coaches this season? The first Coach of the Year award will have two winners, Mike D’Antoni of the Houston Rockets and Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat.
This award seems to be given out based on which coach did the best job with their team. Spoelstra took a team that wasn’t expected to contend and led them to a .500 record at 41-41. They tied with the Bulls for the final playoff spot, but the Bulls got the final nod. Spoelstra did this despite losing Dwyane Wade as a free agent.
D’Antoni turned the Rockets into one of the most efficient offensive teams of all time. His bold move to switch James Harden to point guard ignited the offense. D’Antoni showed off his offensive flair by making the Rockets the second highest scoring team in the league at 115.3 points per game, just behind the Golden State Warriors. Houston was one of the most improved teams from last season and their coach is a huge reason behind it.
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Both coaches exceeded expectations and got the most out of their teams. Isn’t that what coaching is all about? All you can ask for from your coach is that he or she efficiently utilizes their resources to make his or her team the best team it can be.