NBA Coach of the Year Predictions

The NBA’s Coach of the Year Award, or the Red Auerbach Trophy, is an extremely narrative-based award. Usually, it’s given to a coach whose result greatly exceeds their team’s expectations.

But the award doesn’t make the distinction between what comes to a team by way of a coach and what comes to a coach by way of their team. That distinction by ownership may be why five of the last seven award winners have been fired from their teams and replaced, some within 1-2 years of winning it.

Here are some coaches whose schemes and teams may have enough electricity to win them Coach of the Year.

Mark Daigneault

Fourth-year head coach Mark Daigneault was last year’s runner-up for the Red Auerbach Trophy, receiving 48 second-place votes and 164 total votes. This year, the Thunder enter this NBA season finally looking to compete.

A play-in victory against the eighth-seeded Timberwolves would’ve snuck his baby Thunder team into the playoffs last season.

Even ignoring the ocean of draft capital and just banking on natural developments from future stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey and rookie Chet Holmgren, the Thunder have the brightest future in the association.

A 45+ win season (40-42 last year) and their first playoff appearance since the NBA Bubble would make the 38-year-old Daigneault a very likely candidate for the award.

Daigneault may be proven from a development standpoint, but whether he’s the winning coach to transform the Thunder from league-pass darlings to playoff contenders will remain to be seen this season.

Adrian Griffin

Adrian Griffin is not starting his head coaching career with a lack of pressure. After they traded for NBA superstar Damian Lillard on Sept. 27, the Milwaukee Bucks have the second-best odds to win the finals.

Managing stars will be a big part of Griffin’s first head coaching job. Lillard and Antetokounmpo will become the second pair of NBA stars to play together after both averaging 30 PPG the prior season.

If the Bucks win over 60 games and clinch the first seed in the Eastern Conference, Griffin could get a lot of noise for Coach of the Year. Rewarding the coach of the best team with the award is not unheard of, especially for a debutant coach like the 49-year-old Griffin.

Former Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer won Coach of the Year in 2019 when the Bucks went 60-22 as the first seed in the East.

Last year, the Celtics' first-year head coach Joe Mazzula finished third in Coach of the Year voting, despite the Celtics finishing the season in the second seed for the second consecutive year.

But if expectations are not met and the Bucks struggle initially in the regular season, Griffin could receive much of the blame and flame out early for the award. It would take the Bucks living up to their lofty expectations for Griffin to be rewarded with the Red Auerbach Trophy.

Jamahl Mosley

Of the Eastern Conference teams spoiled with young draft talent that are looking to dip their feet into competition this year (the Pacers, Pistons, Magic, or Hornets), the Orlando Magic are the most equipped to do so.

Much like Daigneault last year, if Jamahl Mosley’s Orlando Magic manage to hover around .500 and make some noise in the play-in tournament he may find himself receiving votes for Coach of the Year.

After two seasons of overseeing mediocrity and growing pains, this is the year Mosley has to prove he’s able to bring the Magic into their new era of winning basketball.

The Magic surprised people this offseason when they signed veteran Joe Ingles to a two-year, $22 million contract. Typically a 36-year-old vet like Ingles would be most coveted by contenders, but being buyers tells a lot about what their goals are for this season.

With the reigning rookie of the year Banchero and third-year Franz Wagner playing along a pack of young athletic defenders, Mosley has his core and will be battle-testing them this year.

But the Magic are still unproven, and anything worse than a play-in spot won’t get Mosley any consideration for the Red Auerbach Trophy.

Honorable Mentions:

Will Hardy

Rick Carlisle

Nick Nurse

Brian Eife is a second-year majoring in digital/print journalism, to contact him please email bae5288@psu.edu