Tom Thibodeau Wins Coach of the Year
Source: New York Knicks' Tom Thibodeau named Coach of the Year for second time
For the second time in his career, and a decade apart, Tom Thibodeau was named the NBA's Coach of the Year on Monday.
The New York Knicks coach, who led the team he grew up watching to a 20-win improvement this season, edged out Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams by a total of 11 points, while Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder finished third. It was the second time Thibodeau won the award in his first year with a new team, after doing so with the Chicago Bulls in 2011.
A couple of the players he had as part of that Bulls team, Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson, were veteran mentors on this year's Knicks squad, which went from being expected to compete for one of the top spots in the NBA's draft lottery to earning home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
While the Knicks went on to lose to the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, it was still a successful season in Gotham, as Julius Randle -- who was named the NBA's Most Improved Player last month -- became an All-Star, RJ Barrett took a significant step forward in his second season and Immanuel Quickley immediately contributed as a rookie for the Knicks, who had a top-five defense all season.
The Knicks' accomplishments as a team this year is thanks in no small part to Thibodeau's effectiveness as a coach, and while the Jazz and the Suns both exceeded expectations this season (in my opinion), Thibodeau was the one to got the nod.
