According to Bonny Johnson of basketballforever.com, Monty Williams of Fredericksburg, Virginia was named the NBA coach of the year on Monday. The honour should not be much of a surprise as the Suns were the best team in the NBA all season long with a record of 64 wins and 18 losses for a winning percentage of .780.
Williams becomes the third Suns head coach to receive the honour, following Cotton Fitzsimmons of Hannibal, Missouri (1988-89), and Mike D’Antoni of Mullens, West Virginia (2004-05). For Fitzsimmons it was the second time he received the NBA Head Coach of the Year Award, as he previously received the honour with the Kansas City Kings in 1978-79. D’Antoni also was named the NBA Head Coach of the Year twice, as he won with the Houston Rockets in 2016-17.
A major reason why Williams deserved the honour was the fact Phoenix played extremely well during the regular season without their star player, Chris Paul. In 15 games while Paul was out with a broken wrist, the Suns posted a record of 11 wins and four losses.
It should be noted that Williams has been coaching the last few years despite experiencing personal heartbreak. On February 10, 2016, while Williams was the associate coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Williams’s wife Ingrid died in a car accident. As a result, Monty Williams became a single father of five children.
The Suns meanwhile have a three games to two series lead over the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals. On Wednesday, the Suns clobbered the Mavericks 110-80.
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