What a difference a month makes. In early January, Monty Williams from the Phoenix Suns and Steve Kerr from the Golden State Warriors were co-favorites to win the 2022 NBA Coach of the Year at +380 odds. Four weeks later, Williams is the consensus favorite at -140 odds to win his first Coach of the Year award, and Kerr slipped to +1000 odds as the sixth-highest coach on the prop betting board at DraftKings.
Tom Thibodeau, last year’s recipient from the New York Knicks, led the revamped Knicks to the #4 seed in the Eastern Conference.playoffs last season. The Knicks look like crap this season and reverted back to their losing ways. Thibs saw his odds continue to tank from +5000 last month to +70000 this week.
| NBA COACH OF THE YEAR ODDS |
| NOW | 1/5/22 | |
| Monty Williams (Phoenix Suns) | -140 | +380 |
| JB Bickerstaff (Cleveland Cavs) | +320 | +450 |
| Bill Donovan (Chicago Bulls) | +650 | +400 |
| Taylor Jenkins (Memphis Grizzlies) | +650 | +1200 |
| Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat) | +850 | +1600 |
| Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors) | +1000 | +380 |
| Doc Rivers (Philadelphia 76ers) | +4000 | +2000 |
| Mike Budenholzer (Milwaukee Bucks) | +4000 | +2800 |
| James Borrego (Charlotte Hornets) | +4000 | +3000 |
| Ty Lue (LA Clippers) | +5000 | +3500 |
| Quin Snyder (Utah Jazz) | +5500 | +1500 |
| Chris Finch (Minnesota Timberwolves) | +6000 | +4500 |
| Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks) | +6500 | +3000 |
| Steve Nash (Brooklyn Nets) | +8000 | +1300 |
| Nate McMillan (Atlanta Hawks) | +8000 | +3500 |
| Tom Thibodeau (New York Knicks) | +70000 | +5000 |
Thibs edged out Williams last season to win the 2021 Coach of the Year, which many insiders felt he should’ve won because the Suns advanced to the NBA Finals before losing to the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks.
Williams -140
The Suns (41-10) are the best team in the NBA right now and proved to the league and any haters that last season was not a fluke. Williams and the Suns currently occupy the #1 seed in the Western Conference standings, but also on pace to finish the season with 66 wins.
The Suns recently had an 11-game winning streak halted by Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, but it marked only their second loss since New Year’s Eve. It’s been an impressive run thanks to hot shooting from Devin Booker and veteran Chris Paul implementing Williams’ game plan on a nightly basis.
Williams embraced the simple mantra of the modern NBA — you have to outgun opponents from the 3-point line and you have to defend the perimeter like your life depended on it. The high-octane Suns are the third-highest scoring team in the NBA with 113.1 ppg. They’re ranked #4 in the NBA allowing opponents to shoot only 33.7% from 3-point range. The Suns are ranked #5 in 3-point shooting at 36.5%, but only trail the Hawks by 1.1%.
With 31 games remaining, it will take a huge losing streak to trip up Williams from winning the Coach of the Year. If you want to back Williams, grab -140 now before you start losing value with every passing week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvVVf7Mtr-M
Bickerstaff +320
JB Bickerstaff and the Cleveland Cavs are in the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference and just 1.5 games out first, which is impressive considering the Cavs lost Collin Sexton to an injury 11 games into the season. Even without their top scorer, Bickerstaff elevated the Cavs from the outhouse to the penthouse in just one season. Bickerstaff saw his Coach of the Year odds bump from +450 to +320, but he’s the closest competitor to Williams.
Donovan +600
Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls (33-19) were in the #1 seed for most of the first half of the season. They survived a nasty COVID-19 outbreak that postponed three games when 10 of their players were out. Donovan saw his Coach of the Year odds slip from +450 to +600 in the last few weeks after the Miami Heat surged ahead of the Bulls for a couple of days in the standings. It’s a tight race in the Eastern Conference with five teams just two games out of first place.
Jenkins +650
The Memphis Grizzlies (36-18) are one of the other surprise team in the NBA this season. Taylor Jenkins and the Grizzlies sit in the #3 seed in the Western Conference behind the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors. Ja Morant and the Grizzlies came a long way from the play-in tournament last season after they emerged as one of the top three teams in the west. We love Jenkins and picked him as the Coach of the Year in OG’s NBA Midseason Awards. Jenkins saw his Coach of the Year odds increase from +1200 to +650 in the last four weeks.
