Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has been named the 2019/20 NBA Head Coach of the Year, the league announced today in a press release.
Nurse, 53, led Toronto to the organization’s first NBA championship last season. Despite the loss of Kawhi Leonard, the Raptors had an even better winning percentage during the ’19/20 regular season than they did a year ago, clinching the Eastern Conference’s second seed. Toronto currently holds a 3-0 lead over the Nets in the team’s first-round playoff series.
Of the 100 total first-place votes, Nurse garnered 90 of them in a clear runaway with the award. His 470 total points dwarfed the 147 points earned by runner-up Mike Budenholzer — the Bucks head coach received five first-place votes.
Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, who received four first-place votes, was the third-place finisher with 134 total points. Pacers head coach Nate McMillan got the final first-place vote.
Here’s the full breakdown of the voting for the NBA Coach of the Year:
- Nurse (470 points)
- Budenholzer (147)
- Donovan (134)
- Erik Spoelstra, Heat (154)
- Frank Vogel, Lakers (36)
- Taylor Jenkins, Grizzlies (29)
- McMillan (12)
- Brad Stevens, Celtics (5)
- Michael Malone, Nuggets (5)
- Doc Rivers, Clippers (5)
- Rick Carlisle, Mavericks (3)
We The North, baby!
As a Lakers fan even I have to agree with this. Especially losing Leonard and only winning five less games without him is a great accomplishment and is deserving of the award
As A lAkErS fAn
Hahaha.
‘Won five less games’. Lost five fewer games too. Is that impressive?
Well deserved. Didn’t expect Toronto to be this good.
Overachievement ranking by me
Thunder
Raptors
Lakers
Grizzlies
Spurs
Very well deserved
Wow, and not a single vote for Jim Boylen.
Buuurn
Nor one for Mike D’Antoni, presumably because the Rockets underperformed during the regular season, unlike the teams of the coaches who received votes.
I get the choice I just thought Billy Donovan would have gotten more votes.
I have no idea how Toronto is this good when at a glance it looks like the same roster as 2018 when they sucked. So if the coach is the reason then he deserves all the recognition in the world.
When they sucked in 2018? As luck would have it, the Raptors head coach won coach of the year in 2018. Kind of amazing how often coaches are turning the sad rosters into overachievers in Toronto. If you want to win awards, you should coach in Toronto where the players are usually considered ancillary to the greatness of your coaching.
If he (Nurse) wins the chip this year Brooklyn is gonna try to…. nevermind
RECOUNT !!
No votes for Ryan Saunders??
He deserves an award.
Watching all those games and practices,
Without once tossing his cookies onto the court.
(down) If the restart counts, Budenholzer & Malone should get demerits. The Bucks lost their Giannis-surround smoothness, and the Nuggets’ focus on defense failed. Donovan at #3 probably relies on coachable players, or just Chris Paul. And I’m still mad at Stevens for the 2015 playoffs.
(up) Dantoni is really working the small lineup and getting things from the mediocre, and Spoelstra got the players in shape and was unafraid to bench two starters probably for the best.
How in the hell did Nurse win coach of the year
1) Despite losing Leonard and Green from their starting lineup, defensive rating was second behind only the Bucks—better then last year. Their offensive rating was out of the top 10 BUT still finished with the 2nd best record in the NBA
2) most lost man games due to injury then any other playoff team
3) better winning percentage then last year when they won the Larry OB
4) preseason predictions where anywhere from out of the top 10 to not making playoffs
5)
Okay okay okay, I get it
WELL DESERVE
Nurse is a great dude and a great coach. Well deserved… I’m a big fan of his, Brad Stevens and Quin Synder. I think Synder gets the short end of the stick when mentioning top coaches. But also think how Nurse has come up from coaching in the GLeague is great. I would like to c these organizations do that more instead of hiring retread guys and have to do it again in a couple years when it doesn’t work out AGAIN