The NBA has announced its NBA Coach of the Year for the 2019-20 NBA season, and unfortunately for fans of the Boston Celtics, that honor doesn’t go to Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens no matter what we think of the job he’s done this season.
The honor instead goes to the very worthy Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors, who won the award handily with 147 total points, his only real competition from second-place Billy Donovan of the Oklahoma City Thunder with 134 total points.
The vote was made by a panel of media, weighting first-place votes with five points, second-place votes three points and third-place votes one point apiece.
Nick Nurse of course wins coach of the year. Brad Stevens received 1 second place and 2 third place votes. pic.twitter.com/n1cOxwrrLx
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) August 22, 2020
Stevens came in a respectable if distant seventh place with one second-place and two third-place votes.
It was enough to put him behind the Miami Heat’s Erik Spoelstra, Los Angeles Lakers’ Frank Vogel, Memphis Grizzlies’ Taylor Jenkins and Indiana Pacers’ Nate McMillan in addition to Nurse and Donovan.
There are some legitimate gripes with Stevens being so low on the list if we’re talking actual coaching abilities.
A Sixers sweep is in reach, but don’t expect Brown, Boston to ease up https://t.co/RqM3TRwGq4
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) August 22, 2020
But, it’s important to keep in mind the award is both focused solely on the season in question (and in this case only before the Disney bubble restart), and is heavily tied to narratives.
And as for Nurse, that he was able to keep his defending champion team from having a title hangover.
Particularly after the decamping of superstar Kawhi Leonard, the Toronto coach is a more than worthy recipient of the award.
