The NBA coach of the year award is talked about a lot around this time of the year as commentators take a closer look at the standings and reflect on some of the teams that have exceeded expectations based in large part on the role their bench bosses have played. While overachieving is a key factor, there is definitely something to be said about consistency as well. Here is a look at the top NBA coach of the year candidates right now.
Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs
Popovich is pretty much a perennial contender for this award and there is reason to believe he deserves it once again. Popovich has made sure the Spurs haven’t missed a beat without Tim Duncan and the fact that San Antonio is right there challenging for the best record in the NBA right behind Golden State is testament to the work that he has done. Kawhi Leonard has emerged as a star, LaMarcus Aldridge is a solid secondary fit but beyond that the Spurs clearly aren’t as talented as their competition at the top of the Western Conference. If the Warriors stumble in any way, shape or form, the Spurs are the team that will be in the pole position to win the conference. Just a little while ago, that didn’t seem likely. Popovich deserves a ton of credit for keeping his team in the mix and he should definitely be considered an NBA coach of the year candidate once again.
Mike D’Antoni, Houston Rockets
D’Antoni might be the favorite to win the award at this point in time as he has the Rockets playing at a 57-win pace despite entering this season with moderate expectations. D’Antoni’s system has worked wonders for James Harden while revitalizing Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson along the way. Houston owns the second-ranked offense in the NBA behind only the dream team Warriors.
Remember that D’Antoni was deemed to be a bad hire that wasn’t going to work out because his offense-first, defense-last mentality was proven to be a failed model in previous stints with the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. However, Houston is third in the Western Conference behind only Golden State and San Antonio so D’Antoni is definitely deserving of the award at this point.
Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz
One of the biggest surprises of the season has been watching Utah actually make the jump from pretender to contender in the Western Conference. The Jazz were expected to be better but few expected them to have a better record than the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder at this point. Their defense has been phenomenal and if everything goes right, they could potentially give the Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets a lot of problems in a playoff series.
Snyder has done an excellent job maximizing the potential of a relatively young and inexperienced group, which has completely bought in with the No. 1 ranked defense in the NBA this season.
Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat
The last man to win NBA coach of the year honors with a non-playoff team was Doc Rivers with the Orlando Magic back in 1999-2000. However, Spoelstra certainly deserves mention after turning things around in Miami. The Heat were on pace to finish with 22 wins at the season’s halfway point but they have won 17 of their last 20 to climb into the playoff picture with the best record in the NBA since January 17th. They even registered back-to-back wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a home-and-home series, paving the way for some concern for the Cavs because these two teams could square off in the first round of the 2017 NBA playoffs.
Don’t forget how tough of a hand the Heat were dealt this past offseason: Dwyane Wade bolted Miami for the Chicago Bulls and Chris Bosh – due to a bizarre condition – was forced to miss the entire season. The Heat essentially lost two All-Stars, yet are still playing very well. Spoelstra has done the most with the least for an injury-riddled Miami team and he definitely deserves consideration for NBA coach of the year.
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