New York (AFP)
Mike Budenholzer, who heads Milwaukee, the best team in the regular season, and Billy Donovan, head of Oklahoma City, an unexpected underdog in this 2019/2020 fiscal year, have been named coaches of the season, the NBA announced on Monday.
Budenholzer, who won the Michael H. Goldberg Prize on his own last year, joins the very closed club of triple winners, having first been honored in 2015 when he coached Atlanta. He joins Gregg Popovich, Pat Riley and Don Nelson.
Other coaches received votes: Nick Nurse (Toronto), Taylor Jenkins (Memphis), Nate McMillan (Indiana), Erik Spoelstra (Miami), Brad Stevens (Boston) and Frank Vogel (Lakers).
This annual distinction "rewards the dedication, commitment and hard work of NBA coaches and is presented each year to a coach who helps guide his players to a higher level of performance on the court and sets an example. and dedication to his environment off the field ".
This year's vote was based on matches played from the start of the 2019/2020 regular season until matches played on March 11, when the coronavirus outbreak halted play.
“Congratulations to Mike Budenholzer and Billy Donovan for this prestigious recognition,” said Rick Carlisle, coach of the Dallas Mavericks and president of the Coaching Association of the NBA (NBCA).
"Mike led the Bucks to the league's best record for a second straight regular season and Billy became only the fourth active coach to lead his team to the play-offs in his first five seasons," he said. .
In the 58 years that this award has been awarded, only six winners have won the NBA title in the process, including Popovich, the last two times in 2003 and 2014.
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