George Karl Coach of the Year: It’s the first time Karl has won the award in his 25 years of coaching.
Karl led the Denver Nuggets to a team-record 57 wins without a big name and had an impressive 38-3 record at home. The Nuggets earned the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs, though the Nuggets were just eliminated in the first round.
The Nuggets also have the league’s third-youngest team, with an average age of 24.9 years. No player scored more than 16.7 points per game.
“I am honored and energized to represent coaching and be their ambassador as coach of the year and continue to symbolize the great coaching there is in the NBA,” Karl said in a statement. “There are probably seven or eight guys who are deserving of it and another 10 or 15 other coaches who have done a great job and aren’t getting any recognition.”
Karl got 62 first-place votes; second-place Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat) got 24 first-place votes. Mike Woodson and Gregg Popovich were third and fourth. Popovich won last year.
