NEWSLETTER
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Phoenix Suns’ Monty Williams has taken home the Coach of the Year award.
Williams led the Suns to an NBA-best 64-18 record one season after a trip to the NBA Finals. The award marks the first for Williams, but he has earned back-to-back Coach of the Year honors from the National Basketball Coaches Association.
Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams has won the 2021-22 NBA Coach of the Year award, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Williams led the franchise to an NBA-best 64-18 record this season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 9, 2022
I’ll be curious to see how the votes wrapped up once the ballot is released. While I’m sure Williams ran away with 1st place, numerous other coaches like the Grizzlies’ Taylor Jenkins, Pelicans’ Willie Green, and the Heat’s Eric Spoelstra were likely well-represented.
Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan was also thought to once be in the conversation thanks to the Bulls’ rise to the top of the Eastern Conference midway through the season. However, a second-half tumble that ended with his squad in the 6th spot took him out of the running, and the question now is whether or not he received any votes at all.
With both news on Coach of the Year and MVP breaking today, the only major award left is Executive of the Year. The Chicago Bulls have felt well-positioned to be represented in that category after the signing of DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso, but only time will tell whether or not the second-half collapse also hurt Arturas Karnisovas’ chances.
