Knicks' Tom Thibodeau named Coach of the Year

Tom Thibodeau has been named Coach of the Year, according to a league press release.

Thibodeau guided the Knicks to their first postseason appearance since the 2012-13 season. The Knicks finished the regular season with a 41-31 record, ending a string of seven consecutive losing seasons. They were 21-45 last season and 17-65 in 2018/19.

It’s the second Coach of the Year award for Thibodeau, who also earned the honor in the 2010-11 season with the Bulls in his first season as a head coach.  No one had previously won the award in his first season with two different franchises.

Suns coach Monty Williams actually received more first-place votes (45) than Thibodeau (43). However, Thibodeau earned 351 total points while Williams had 340 points.  The 11-point difference between the first- and second-place finishers was the smallest margin since the voting format was introduced in the 2002-03 season.

The Jazz’s Quin Snyder finished third with 161 points (10 first-place votes).

Thibodeau is the first Knicks coach since Pat Riley (1992-93) to win the award.