US basketball

Suns’ Monty Williams voted NBA Coach of the Year

Reuters

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Suns’ Monty Williams voted NBA Coach of the Year

MENTOR. Coach Monty Williams relays instructions to Suns stars Devin Booker (left) and Mikal Bridges.

Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters

After steering Phoenix to the finals last year, coach Monty Williams rides another historic run with the Suns

Monty Williams was named the 2021-2022 NBA Coach of the Year on Monday, May 9, after leading the Phoenix Suns to a league-best 64-18 record.

Williams received 81 of a possible 100 first-place votes and 458 total points from the voting panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins came in second with 270 points and 17 first-place votes. Erik Spoelstra of the Miami finished third in voting with 72 points and one first-place nod.

The only other first-place vote went to Boston Celtics first-year coach Ime Udoka. He finished fourth in voting.

Williams, 50, was runner-up to the New York Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau in last season’s voting.

Phoenix earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and broke the franchise record for wins, shared by the 1992-1993 and 2004-2005 squads at 62-20. The Suns are currently tied at 2-2 in their conference semifinal series with the Dallas Mavericks. Game 5 is Tuesday night in Phoenix.

Williams, who led the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals, is 149-78 through three seasons with Phoenix. He is 322-299 overall, including five seasons with the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans from 2010-2015.

Williams is the third Phoenix coach to win the award, joining Cotton Fitzsimmons (1988-1989) and Mike D’Antoni (2004-2005). – Rappler.com

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