Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder was voted the National Basketball Coaches Association’s NBA coach of the year on Monday.
Daigneault delivered the youngest team in modern league history (an average of 24 years old) to the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed and decisively won the NBCA voting among his head-coaching peers.
Each NBA head coach votes for a single winner in the award named for the late Michael Goldberg. Also receiving votes: Cleveland’s J.B. Bickerstaff, Minnesota’s Chris Finch, Boston’s Joe Mazzulla and Orlando’s Jamahl Mosley.
“It is humbling to be chosen for this honor by my peers, for whom I have a great deal of respect and admiration,” Daigneault said in a statement. “Our team’s success this season has been driven by a group of talented players, whose commitment and competitiveness has been uncommon. Coaching them is a privilege.”
Daigneault, 39, has increased his victories total in each season, including significantly in the past three seasons — 24 to 40 to 57. The Thunder and the Celtics, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, are the only two teams this season to rank in the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Oklahoma City also led the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage, and finished top five in nearly 15 top offensive categories.
