Monty Williams was named the 2021-22 NBA Coach of the Year on Monday after leading the Phoenix Suns to a league-best 64-18 record.
Williams received 81 of a possible 100 first-place votes and 458 total points from the voting panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins came in second with 270 points and 17 first-place votes. Erik Spoelstra of the Miami finished third in voting with 72 points and one first-place nod.
The only other first-place vote went to Boston Celtics first-year coach Ime Udoka. He finished fourth in voting.
Williams, 50, was runner-up to the New York Knicks’ Tom Thibodeau in last season’s voting.
Phoenix earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and broke the franchise record for wins, shared by the 1992-93 and 2004-05 squads at 62-20. The Suns are currently tied at 2-2 in their conference semifinal series with the Dallas Mavericks. Game 5 is Tuesday night in Phoenix.
Williams, who led the Suns to the 2021 NBA Finals, is 149-78 through three seasons with Phoenix. He is 322-299 overall, including five seasons with the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans from 2010-15.
Williams is the third Phoenix coach to win the award, joining Cotton Fitzsimmons (1988-89) and Mike D’Antoni (2004-05).
–Field Level Media
