Suns head coach Monty Williams is currently the favorite to be named the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2022, according to the oddsmakers at Bovada and BetOnline. With a 49-10 record, Phoenix has been 6.5 games better than any other team in the league this season, so Williams certainly has a strong case for the award.
Still, he’s hardly the only coach who is a viable candidate to be named Coach of the Year, especially if the Suns stumble at all during Chris Paul‘s absence in the next few weeks. Based on current betting odds, Bovada and BetOnline both view J.B. Bickerstaff, Taylor Jenkins, and Billy Donovan as the coaches besides Williams who are the strongest contenders for the award.
The Coach of the Year vote often comes down to which team exceeded its preseason expectations most significantly, especially if that club dealt with injuries or other adversity. With that in mind, Bickerstaff should be a popular pick. His Cavaliers are 35-24 despite losing Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio to season-ending knee injuries and having several other rotation players deal with various health ailments. Cleveland was widely viewed as a lottery team entering 2021/22.
Jenkins’ Grizzlies have also blown away the expectations fans and league observers had for them in the fall. Projected to be roughly a .500 team after sneaking into the playoffs a year ago, Memphis has already reached 41 victories in just 61 games and comfortably holds a top-three spot in the West. While Ja Morant has emerged as a bona fide star, the team’s supporting cast isn’t exactly loaded with household names, which may earn Jenkins some extra votes this spring.
Finally, Donovan’s Bulls were considered a fringe playoff team by oddsmakers last fall — their over/under figure of 42.5 wins was tied with Indiana and New York for seventh in the East. The club has been impacted by injuries throughout the season and was one of the teams hit hardest by COVID-19 in the winter, but still holds the conference’s top seed with a 39-21 record.
Erik Spoelstra of the Heat, Steve Kerr of the Warriors, Doc Rivers of the Sixers, and Chris Finch of the Timberwolves are among the others who could merit Coach of the Year consideration, especially with strong late-season finishes.
We want to know what you think. Is Williams the right pick for Coach of the Year at this point, or do you view Bickerstaff, Jenkins, Donovan, or someone else as a stronger candidate? If the season ended today, who do you think would – and should – win the award?
Head to the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!
Monty Williams is doing great, but he was more deserving last year, when the Suns exceeded all expectations. I’d lean towards Bickerstaff if the Cavs get directly into the PO, Donovan otherwise.
And even if he wasn’t mentioned in the article, Tyronn Lue is doing a terrific job keeping the Clippers alive with no Kawhi and then no PG.
Thibs 100%
Thibs should be coach of the year, for the other 29 teams that get to face his pathetic squad on a nightly basis.
Signed – a Knicks fan
What about nick nurse? Consistently dealing with injuries and has them in a playoff spot
Best coach has to be the winner
Suns
Warriors
Grizzlies
Bulls
I don’t buy anything else
Yeah think you were spot on with the names.
Williams, then Bickerstaff, then Donovan then Jenkins.
Tyron Lue also should get a mention for his worth on the clippers without Kawhi and PG13.
I had JB then Donovan then Taylor Jenkins. All of exceeded their team’s projection and potential this year. All 3 teams have dealt with covid or injuries as well. This should be a no brainer in my mind.
Finch has made an incredible impact on the on-court product. Saunders was so bad that it’s tough to really gauge how good he is. Any competent coach would’ve seen some bump. I do think Finch is the real deal however.
This article was (almost) spot on with the names. Many worthy candidates this season – especially from teams having to deal with all these injuries, protocols.
Though I’m not too high on Bickerstaff. An influx of talent and some other circumstances had more to do with the bump in wins.
More than a few pre-draft reports had Mobley as the one who’ll have the most and immediate impact for his team ……… adding the stretchy Markkanen to that tall frontline was good.
In many ways, Sexton’s injury sanitized that two small PG dilemma they had last season. Picking up Rubio, stabilized their sets early this season.
It’s also no coincidence that when it was clear that the CAVS had a good product on the court, Mr. K. Love’s attitude for the game, also turned positive – he stopped pouting on the sidelines and had since been a good veteran presence on and off the court.
Adding LeVert was almost a steal for the CAVS.
If anything, it’s Koby Altman who deserves more of the praise for this CAVS revival.
Celtics defense is impenetrable and is getting big contributions from the whole team.
I submit Ime Udoka to the list. He should be the winner.
I just know, they all have compelling situations and this article is spot on as there are a lot of worthy candidates. If I had a vote and forced to pick today I guess I’d go with Spoelstra. He just keeps plugging guys in like Yurtseven and Deadmon which takes a completely different style of play on both sides of the ball then Adebayo. Herro, Butler and Lowry all at different times have ran the offense. Even getting major contributions from Martin.
It’s Monty
The rare instance of coach overcoming a pretty dysfunctional FO and actually still exceeding expectations
He seems to relate really well to new age players while still maintaining an old school approach. That’s gotta be a fine line to tow and he executes it flawlessly
I have always liked Bickerstaff as a natural truth-teller… which as some might cynically suggest, thus as an AC a good spy for a GM not confident in his HC pick. JBB is a longtime interim HC who got a great chance and showed his stuff. It feels like the Cav players got a trustworthy HC with integrity. Fun to read him talking about how to get Lavert integrated… he did not claim to have the answer, which is likely truthful, if not popular with his bosses.
The only HC mentioned so far I don’t care for (besides as always, Rivers) is happy happy joy joy Finch.
No love for Jason Kidd? He had turned Dallas into one of the best defenses in the league.
Celtics are better sorry!
I do actually think that J-Kidd & Michael Malone are clearly the best coaches this year make no mistake about it!