The NBA's Coach of the Year award is given to, obviously, the Coach of the Year.
There are multiple worthy candidates such as Frank Vogel, Greg Poppovich, Erik Spoelstra, Kevin McHale, Doc Rivers, Tom Thiboduea, Terry Stotts, Jeff Hornacek, and (my midseason favorite) Steve Clifford.
But, although it seems as if I've just stated all the potential candidates for the award, my personal pick as Coach of the Year is not on the list of coaches named above.
My pick for the NBA's Coach of the Year award is...
(Drumroll please...)
Drumroll...................Brad Stevens!
The former Butler University Head Coach is younger than many of the players he coaches and coaches against at just 37 years old.
After back-to-back College Basketball National Championship game appearances and a trip to the Round of 32 at Butler, the young coach was offered a job as a Head Coach by Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics.
After embracing the opportunity with open arms, many people (including myself) were unsure whether his coaching ability translated to the NBA.
Well, I was wrong.
Despite his teams .333 win percentage, Stevens has come into Boston and taken his natural coaching talent, and translated it to the NBA seamlessly.
He has even managed to look a bit like his predecessor, future Hall-of-Famer Doc Rivers, in his first season in the NBA.
Stevens had the team atop the Atlantic Division before the Raptors and Nets went on a tear, and the remarkable thing is that, talent-wise, the Celtics are one of the worst teams in the NBA.
And although they don't exactly sport a gaudy record, Stevens has managed to have one of the best College-to-Pros transitions in recent memory, and more often than not the C's are in the game rather than it being a blowout.
His team is mediocre for now, but an Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker, as well as another season for him to fully reach his coaching ceiling, and this team could easily be back into title-contention.
That's it.
My Coach of the Year pick.
Rounding out my top 5 rankings for Coach of the Year are Frank Vogel (Indiana Pacers), Tom Thibadouea (Chicago Bulls), Greg Poppovich (San Antonio Spurs), and Terry Stotts (Portland Trailblazers) in that order.
Who do you think should be the Coach of the Year?
Post your take in the comment section!
P.S. This has almost nothing to do with the above article but the New York Knicks have signed Phil Jackson to be their President. He will be getting payed $12 million a year.
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