New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was named Coach of the Year. The association announced this on the night from Monday to Tuesday.
Thibodeau coached the Knicks to a surprising fourth place in the Eastern Conference (41-31), which guaranteed them their first participation in the playoffs in the past eight years. There, however, NY failed in five games to Atlanta.
Thibodeau received 43 votes for first place and a total of 351 points and thus narrowly prevailed against Suns coach Monty Williams, who received two more votes for first place, but had a total of eleven points less.
Thibodeau transformed the Knicks from one of the worst and defensively weakest teams in the 2019/20 season (21-45) to a real defensive power. New York ended the season in fourth place in Defensive Efficiency and led the league in opposing field and three-way quota. In addition, he let his offensive run through Julius Randle, who was voted Most Improved Player.
For the 63-year-old, it is already his second Coach of the Year award, in 2010/2011 he won the award in his first season with the Chicago Bulls, which won 62 games at the time.
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