Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams—architect of the NBA’s top regular-season team—was named National Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year for the second year running.
The award, named in honor of the late NBCA executive director Michael H. Goldberg, is based on a vote by the league’s 30 head coaches.
The league will announce the winner of NBA Coach of the Year later in the playoffs — an award based on media polls.
The Suns set a franchise record with a 64-18 regular-season record and will be the No. 1 pick in the NBA playoffs. Under Williams, Phoenix became the first team to surpass their winning total by at least 11 games in three straight years.
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Among other coaches who received votes: New Orleans’ Willie Green, Memphis’ Taylor Jenkins, Clippers’ Ty Lue, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich and Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, sources said.
Williams has overseen the development of machine-like precision with these Suns in his three years as coach. Phoenix joined the New York Knicks from 1969–70 as the only team to finish a season with a better road win percentage than all other teams’ home win percentages, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.
Also, the Suns were 47-0 this season when they led after three quarters – the best in the shot-clock era. The only two other teams to go undefeated in this regular-season scenario, according to ESPN Stats & Information research, were LeBron James — the 2017-2018 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2019-2020 Los Angeles Lakers.
Under the Suns’ dominance this season: A franchise-record 18 win streaks and three separate win streaks of nine-plus games in a season in which the rest of the NBA combined had four streaks of nine or more wins.
The Suns ranked in the top five for offensive and defensive efficiency this season, going 33-9 in clutch games — the best record in such situations in the NBA since the 2015-2016 Golden State Warriors, according to Stats & Information Research.