With the 2016-17 NBA regular season coming to an end, it’s time to review the top candidates for awards season. Here are the top five Coach of the Year candidates.
There are only two days left in the 2016-17 NBA regular season, and the 2017 NBA Playoffs will be underway on Saturday. While postseason matchups are being finalized, there’s one thing that still demands our attention: NBA awards season!
While most figured the entire 2016-17 campaign would just be about Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Part III, basketball fans have been treated to a truly excellent regular season with plenty jaw dropping performances and juicy story lines to sink their teeth into.
From Russell Westbrook‘s triple-double feat to one of the greatest MVP races in NBA history to a crowded Sixth Man of the Year conversation, there’s plenty to digest with the league’s end of season awards voting.
With the regular season winding down, it’s time to review the top candidates for each individual award and reveal our picks for Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and MVP.
Today we’ll be taking a look at the top five candidates for the 2016-17 Coach of the Year Award. Let’s get started.
Honorable Mentions: Quin Snyder, Brad Stevens, Dwane Casey
5. Steve Kerr
I know what you’re thinking: Steve Kerr should probably be nowhere near this award since he has four top-20 superstars on his roster. The Golden State Warriors would be a powerhouse no matter who’s at the helm, and that’s enough to prevent him from being a serious candidate.
Hear me out though. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were all still coming into their own when Mark Jackson was running the show, but the dramatic difference in offensive and defensive efficiency, playoff success and regular season wins in three years under Kerr shouldn’t be ignored either.
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Adding Kevin Durant to a roster that just won 73 games softens his case for the 2016-17 campaign, but it’s worth noting that losing a quality two-way wing in Harrison Barnes, an extremely important rim protector in Andrew Bogut and plenty of bench depth meant adjustments had to be made.
And yet, here the Warriors are, sitting with the best record, best point differential, top-ranked offense and second-best defense in the league. For the third season in a row, the Warriors are going to finish with the best record in the association, winning at least 66 games all three times.
Kerr isn’t singlehandedly responsible for turning the Warriors into a perennial juggernaut and potential dynasty, but he was the initial force that set things in motion. The culture is completely different and the Dubs have learned how to maximize their talents under his tutelage.
That — along with fielding an elite defense despite the change in personnel, loss of Bogut and absence of Durant for a month — makes him deserving of at least the top five in the voting.
4. Gregg Popovich
Much like people talk about LeBron James in relation to the MVP Award, there’s a case to be made for Gregg Popovich winning Coach of the Year Award every year simply because when it comes down to it, they’re the best the league has to offer.
Pop probably won’t get many votes since he’s already won the award three times and everyone already knows how great he is, but it’s no small feat for the San Antonio Spurs to win 60+ games in their first season without Tim Duncan.
Even with the emergence of Kawhi Leonard as a legitimate MVP candidate, Pop is the constant variable behind San Antonio’s sustained success. Dating back to the 1997-98 season, the Spurs have won at least 60 percent of their games and made the playoffs every single year. That kind of consistency is unparalleled in the modern NBA.
Not only that, but in the first season without their greatest defender in franchise history, the Spurs are still leading the league in defensive efficiency. The man turned LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol into respectable defenders, for crying out loud!
If this were a lifetime achievement award, Pop would be the unquestioned frontrunner. Other coaches have better narratives going for them this season, but we all know who we’d pick as our head coach if our favorite team faced a must-win game.
3. Scott Brooks
Scott Brooks probably isn’t being talked about in the Coach of the Year conversation as much as he should be. The Washington Wizards didn’t get off the greatest start, but once everyone got settled in, they rapidly became one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Despite starting the season 3-9 and barely reaching .500 by the end of 2016, the Wizards have been one of the NBA’s hottest teams since the calendar flipped, winning 33 of their 49 games to battle all the way back from being out of the playoff picture to securing home-court advantage in the first round.
John Wall playing like a fringe MVP candidate and Bradley Beal having the healthiest season of his career certainly helped there, but Brooks helped turn an ineffective starting five from last season into one of the best in the NBA.
Without much bench help, the Wizards were able to put together an elite offense since the start of 2017. They’ve played the Cavaliers and Celtics tough in their head-to-head matchups and though they’ll be the 4-seed entering they playoffs, they may be overlooked in the East right now.
As a head coach well known for his ability to embrace and develop young talent, is it any surprise Brooks has coaxed career years out of Wall, Beal, Otto Porter Jr. and Kelly Oubre? It took awhile for the Wiz to find their groove, but as a new head coach in a new situation, Scott Brooks has exceeded expectations.
2. Erik Spoelstra
The Miami Heat have to win their last game to reach .500 on the season, and they still might miss the playoffs even if they do. That alone makes it hard to vote Erik Spoelstra as Coach of the Year, especially after watching firsthand as Jeff Hornacek finished second in COY voting in 2013-14 despite his Goran Dragic-led Suns team — which was expected to tank — winning 48 games in a far more challenging Western Conference.
However, one injustice does not merit another, and there’s no question that Spo has done an incredible job since his team started the season 11-30.
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Since that time, the Heat have gone 29-11, which is the third-best record in the NBA in that span. Miami also sports the league’s eighth-best offense and third-best defense during that time, which, if it had been sustained over the whole season, would make them one of three other teams to rank in the top 10 for both offensive and defensive efficiency (Warriors, Spurs, Raptors).
The Heat need the Bulls to lose their final game of the season against Brooklyn to cap off this dramatic turnaround with a postseason berth, and if that somehow happens, you can bet Spoelstra will earn extra Coach of the Year votes.
With a roster of Hassan Whiteside, an older version of 2013-14 Phoenix Suns Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters, point forward James Johnson and a bunch of role players, Spo has transformed the Heat into a playoff-caliber team midseason.
Without LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh, Spoelstra has reminded people that he’s a legitimately great coach, rather than just a benefactor of elite talent as many people thought during the Big Three era.
1. Mike D’Antoni
Spoelstra has far less talent to work with, Brooks has been a nice story in his first season in D.C., and Kerr and Popovich remain the quintessential examples of coaching excellence. But if you’re looking for the Coach of the Year frontrunner, it’s got to be Mike D’Antoni.
Yes, he has an MVP candidate to work with in James Harden. And yes, his front office has been gung-ho about its three-point heavy attack for years now. But after extremely unsuccessful stints in New York and Los Angeles, Mike D has reminded people what his basketball mind is capable of when he has an elite point guard to orchestrate his diabolical offense with.
Kerr said Mike D'Antoni would "probably win" Coach of the Year if voting was today.
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) January 19, 2017
James Harden is the one doing the heavy lifting, but it’s no coincidence that D’Antoni’s arrival triggered the heaviest onslaught from three-point range that the NBA has ever seen. The Houston Rockets have already shattered the record for three-point makes in a single season, and they’re attempting an unholy 40.1 three-pointers per game — 6.2 more than the next closest team.
The Rockets are only shooting 35.8 percent from downtown, so they’re not exactly a bunch of snipers on the perimeter.
But in the same season, D’Antoni’s offense has managed to restore Harden’s reputation as a once-in-a-lifetime floor general who deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Steve Nash; resurrect the careers of Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson; aid the development of Clint Capela; give opportunities to Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell; field the NBA’s second-ranked offense; and lead the Rockets to the third-best record in the association.
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Considering Houston was slated by most experts to be fighting for a playoff spot entering the season, what we’ve seen from this team is remarkable. Mike D’Antoni represents the perfect union between front office ideology, head coach, star personnel and the NBA’s pace-and-space era, and he should absolutely win Coach of the Year for it.