Utah Jazz: Can Quin Snyder win Coach of the Year next season?

With the Utah Jazz fielding a solid team for the upcoming season, it feels like a better time than ever for coach Quin Snyder to take home Coach of the Year.

Over the last few seasons, Quin Snyder has shown his worth as coach of the Utah Jazz. He has led them to improved records nearly every season since he was signed back in 2014.

His biggest impact, however, has been on their defense. In 2013-2014, the year before he was hired, the Jazz finished 29th in defensive rating. That number jumped up to 14th the next season, followed by an increase to seventh.

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Since then, the Jazz have steadily jumped up to the top three, finding themselves there for the past three seasons.

That sort of jump in a team’s defensive ability has less to do with the roster, but the coach’s game plan. Quin Snyder put in place a defensive philosophy that everyone on the team has bought into and displayed.

Despite all the roster change since his first season as coach, the team has been a juggernaut defensively, finishing top five in opponent points per game since Snyder’s first season as head coach.

Take this quote from Snyder, when talking to Basketball Insiders, for an example of his approach to defense:

"“I think pick-and-roll defense, for our group [was the biggest hurdle],” Snyder said. “Even the guys that have been here, the scheme is very different, so there’s a learning process that you go through when you’re implementing a defensive system too. And that’s such an important part of defense now in the NBA that it took some time – and not just on the ball.”"

Snyder should also be credited heavily with player development. In 2014-2015, only Joe Ingles, Rudy Gobert and Dante Exum were the players on the team that still remain today. Back then, any NBA fan would not know those three names. They just weren’t good players at the time.

They had promise, but they were unknowns.

Fast forward to the current day, and Gobert is the best defensive big in the game, Ingles is a three-and-d expert as well as a great leader, and Exum has shown promise despite being riddled with injuries.

Snyder is the one to go to when wondering how these players have developed so well. In the same interview with Basketball Insiders, Snyder mentioned how he goes about developing players:

"“I think the capacity that the players have to develop and learn, the speed with which they can pick things up,” Snyder told Basketball Insiders in a sit-down interview. “People perceive talent as athleticism and size and strength, [but] a lot of the ‘talent’ that these guys have is their ability to learn quickly. Show them something, they can do it immediately.”"

That approach to development of young guys goes to show how players like Derrick Favors, Donovan Mitchell, and even Royce O’Neale have blossomed into solid players, Mitchell most notably.

Being in the Coach of the Year discussion is nothing new for Snyder. In fact, he finished as a finalist for the award two seasons ago, along with Brad Stevens and Dwane Casey, who ended up winning the award for his time with Toronto.

Snyder has all the pieces he needs to make a run at the award this year, too. With Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic, the front office of the Jazz has done all they could to surround Snyder with the types of players he loves the most.

They are all leaders and proven on both sides of the ball. The new faces on the team will thrive under a coach of Snyder’s caliber.

If the team can secure a top three seed in the wide-open West, and possibly make it to the Conference Finals, then Snyder will very well be looking at a Coach of the Year award.

Looking at other candidates, Brett Brown has high expectations on him to perform well, and any slight under-achievement will destroy his chances of winning. Doc Rivers could very well win, after nearly winning it last season.

However, they also have high expectations, and a trip to the Finals may be needed for him to win. A sleeper pick may be Alvin Gentry of the Pelicans, especially if they sneak into the playoffs, but that team is a big unknown.

However, Quin Snyder has the right mix of talent on the roster, along with opportunity. If everything works out, then Snyder will be right in the mix for the award in less than a year.