NBA Coach of the Year: 5 coaches that were fired after winning award

5. Avery Johnson

After 19 seasons in the NBA as a player, Avery Johnson was hired as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks in October 2004. Five months later, head coach Don Nelson resigned, and Johnson was named head coach to close out the 2004-05 season. The Mavs caught fire under his leadership, and ended the regular season on a 16-2 run before being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Phoenix Suns.

The following season was his breakout year as a coach, as he led Dallas to a 60-22 record and the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The Mavericks upset the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs en route to the NBA Finals, where they were defeated by Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. Due to the success of the 2005-06 season, Johnson was named NBA Coach of the Year.

He achieved even greater success the next season, as he led the Mavs to a 67-15 regular season record, and the No. 1 seed in the West. Unfortunately, he fell victim to the biggest first round playoff upset in NBA history, as Dallas was defeated in six games by former coach Don Nelson and the Golden State Warriors.

Johnson was never able to recover from the staggering upset. With a record of 51-31, Johnson and the Mavericks experienced a 16-game decline in the 2007-08 season. The day after they were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round for the second year in a row, he was dismissed as head coach.