NBA award ballots: MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and more
NBA award ballots: Coach of the Year
Christopher Kline
- Monty Williams, PHX
- Taylor Jenkins, MEM
- J.B. Bickerstaff, CLE
Monty Williams should have won last season and he should win going away this season. The Suns were the best team in the NBA by far, out-classing opponents in just about every facet of the game. Williams has elevated the culture of a once toxic franchise and cemented them as regular contenders.
Taylor Jenkins and J.B. Bickerstaff round out the ballot for the tremendous jobs they have done in elevating young, deep teams to postseason contention. Memphis had the second best record in the NBA against all odds, and Cleveland came out of nowhere to establish itself as a team to watch moving forward. Erik Spoelstra was the toughest cut.
Lucas Johnson
- Monty Williams, PHX
- J.B. Bickerstaff, CLE
- Ime Udoka, BOS
It could be argued that the Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams was robbed of earning his first Coach of the Year award last season when it was given to the New York Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau.
This year that shouldn’t be the case. Don’t be mistaken — coaches like J.B. Bickerstaff and Ime Udoka should be in the running too for the jobs they’ve done with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics respectively — but at the end of the day, Williams is the head coach of the best team in the NBA which gives him the edge.