Coaches are one of the most vital parts of any franchise. The NBA honors the best coach yearly at the end of the regular season. The Coach of the Year award was introduced in 1962-63. A panel of 100 voters selects the winner by voting for their top three choices at the end of the regular season.
A first-place vote is worth five points, a second-place vote gives three points, and a third-place vote adds one point to the tally. The recipient is presented with the Red Auerbach Trophy. Auerbach led the Celtics to eight consecutive NBA Championships from 1959 to 1966.
Every NBA Coach of the Year Winner in History
Below is the chronological list of every Coach of the Year winner from 1963 to 2025:
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- 1963: Harry Gallatin (St. Louis Hawks)
- 1964: Alex Hannum (San Francisco Warriors)
- 1965: Red Auerbach (Boston Celtics)
- 1966: Dolph Schayes (Philadelphia 76ers)
- 1967: Red Kerr (Chicago Bulls)
- 1968: Richie Guerin (St. Louis Hawks)
- 1969: Gene Shue (Baltimore Bullets)
- 1970: Red Holzman (New York Knicks)
- 1971: Dick Motta (Chicago Bulls)
- 1972: Bill Sharman (Los Angeles Lakers)
- 1973: Tom Heinsohn (Boston Celtics)
- 1974: Ray Scott (Detroit Pistons)
- 1975: Phil Johnson (Kansas City-Omaha Kings)
- 1976: Bill Fitch (Cleveland Cavaliers)
- 1977: Tom Nissalke (Houston Rockets)
- 1978: Hubie Brown (Atlanta Hawks)
- 1979: Cotton Fitzsimmons (Kansas City Kings)
- 1980: Bill Fitch (Boston Celtics)
- 1981: Jack McKinney (Indiana Pacers)
- 1982: Gene Shue (Washington Bullets)
- 1983: Don Nelson (Milwaukee Bucks)
- 1984: Frank Layden (Utah Jazz)
- 1985: Don Nelson (Milwaukee Bucks)
- 1986: Mike Fratello (Atlanta Hawks)
- 1987: Mike Schuler (Portland Trail Blazers)
- 1988: Doug Moe (Denver Nuggets)
- 1989: Cotton Fitzsimmons (Phoenix Suns)
- 1990: Pat Riley (Los Angeles Lakers)
- 1991: Don Chaney (Houston Rockets)
- 1992: Don Nelson (Golden State Warriors)
- 1993: Pat Riley (New York Knicks)
- 1994: Lenny Wilkens (Atlanta Hawks)
- 1995: Del Harris (Los Angeles Lakers)
- 1996: Phil Jackson (Chicago Bulls)
- 1997: Pat Riley (Miami Heat)
- 1998: Larry Bird (Indiana Pacers)
- 1999: Mike Dunleavy (Portland Trail Blazers)
- 2000: Doc Rivers (Orlando Magic)
- 2001: Larry Brown (Philadelphia 76ers)
- 2002: Rick Carlisle (Detroit Pistons)
- 2003: Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs)
- 2004: Hubie Brown (Memphis Grizzlies)
- 2005: Mike D’Antoni (Phoenix Suns)
- 2006: Avery Johnson (Dallas Mavericks)
- 2007: Sam Mitchell (Toronto Raptors)
- 2008: Byron Scott (New Orleans Hornets)
- 2009: Mike Brown (Cleveland Cavaliers)
- 2010: Scott Brooks (Oklahoma City Thunder)
- 2011: Tom Thibodeau (Chicago Bulls)
- 2012: Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs)
- 2013: George Karl (Denver Nuggets)
- 2014: Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs)
- 2015: Mike Budenholzer (Atlanta Hawks)
- 2016: Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors)
- 2017: Mike D’Antoni (Houston Rockets)
- 2018: Dwane Casey (Toronto Raptors)
- 2019: Mike Budenholzer (Milwaukee Bucks)
- 2020: Nick Nurse (Toronto Raptors)
- 2021: Tom Thibodeau (New York Knicks)
- 2022: Monty Williams (Phoenix Suns)
- 2023: Mike Brown (Sacramento Kings)
- 2024: Mark Daigneault (Oklahoma City Thunder)
- 2025: Kenny Atkinson (Cleveland Cavaliers)
A global media panel of 100 voters selected the winner of the 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year Award.
The complete voting results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Ic00MtHPzq
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 5, 2025
Nelson, Popovich, and Riley are the only coaches to win the award three times. Riley is the only one to do it with three different teams. Meanwhile, Budenholzer, D’Antoni, Fitch, Fitzsimmons, Shue, Thibodeau, Mike Brown, and Hubie Brown have all won the award twice.
Red Kerr has one of the most unique wins in NBA history. In 1967, he won the award even though his team had a losing record. Kerr led the expansion Bulls to the playoffs with a 33-48 mark.
Atkinson is the latest NBA Coach of the Year award winner for his performance with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The franchise finished first in the Eastern Conference with a 64-18 record in the 2024-25 season. They bowed out of the tournament after losing to the Indiana Pacers in the Conference Semifinals.
