New York Knicks guard Josh Hart. Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Knicks guard calls out voters over Coach of the Year snub

The three finalists for the NBA's Coach of the Year were unveiled on Sunday's "Inside the NBA" on TNT. It was announced that one of OKC's Mark Daigneault, Minnesota's Chris Finch or Orlando's Jamahl Mosley would win the honor for the 2023-24 NBA season.

On paper, all those candidates were worthy of making the shortlist. While Daigneault helped the Thunder improve from a 40-42 play-in team to the youngest No. 1 seed in NBA history, Finch similarly guided Timberwolves' turnaround from a 42-40 team in 2022-23 to a 56-26 juggernaut this season. Meanwhile, Mosley's Magic improved from 34-48 to 47-35 to capture the fifth seed out East.

All that said, no coach in the NBA had to deal with more injuries, roster turnaround and uncertainty than Knicks' Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks reshaped their roster midway through the season by trading key players such as RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Quentin Grimes. They also dealt with injuries to Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson.

Despite all those challenges, Thibodeau guided New York to its first 50-win season since 2012-13 and the No. 2 seed in the East.  

That's precisely why the absence of Thibs from the Coach of the Year finalists didn't sit well with Knicks guard Josh Hart, who criticized the voters via X.  

Perhaps the Knicks and Thibs will have the last laugh by making a deep postseason run. They got a head start with a 111-104 win over the Sixers in Game 1 of the first round last Saturday. 

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