Thibodeau Named NBA Coach Of The Year
May 01, 2011 5:07 PM EDT

The National Basketball Association today announced that Bulls Head Coach Tom Thibodeau has been named the 2010-11 NBA Coach of the Year. Thibodeau is the fourth head coach in franchise history to win the award, joining Johnny Red Kerr (1967), Dick Motta (1971) and Phil Jackson (1996).

"This is a well deserved honor for Tom. He is a terrific teacher, motivator, tactician and communicator. His work ethic, passion for the game and for our players is appreciated," said Bulls GM Gar Forman. "We are thrilled that he is part of the Bulls organization and want to congratulate him on being named the NBA's Coach of the Year."

In his first season with the Bulls, and his first year as a head coach in the NBA, Thibodeau guided Chicago to the best record in the NBA with a mark of 62-20 (.756). Chicago posted the top home record in the league (36-5), and recorded its first winning road record since 1998, as it went 26-15 away from the United Center. Thibodeau’s 62 wins ties the NBA record for most wins by a first-year head coach in NBA history (Paul Westphal in 1993, Phoenix), and surpasses Phil Jackson’s team record for most wins by a Bulls first-year head coach (55 victories in 1991).

Chicago’s 62 wins ranks fourth in team annals for wins in a season, and it marks a 21-game improvement from the team’s 41-41 campaign in 2009-10 (the third-best single-season turnaround in franchise history).

Selected by the NBA media, Thibodeau’s honor marks the seventh time in NBA history that a first-year head coach has been named NBA Coach of the Year: Harry Gallatin (St. Louis, 1963), Johnny Red Kerr (Chicago, 1967), Mike Schuler (Portland, 1987), Larry Bird (Indiana, 1998), Doc Rivers (Orlando, 2000) and Rick Carlisle (Detroit, 2002).

Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/213443/Thibodeau_Named_NBA_Coach_Of_The_Year#ixzz1L9hfuvRl

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/213443/Thibodeau_Named_NBA_Coach_Of_The_Year

Congrats to him for this special award. Well deserved.

i'm baffled.
http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/team-comparison-per-game/sort/avgPoints/seasontype/2

knicks averaged 2nd most points in the NBA and yet the roster was completely changed at midseason!!! MDA got screwed!

"if you score more, you win." -

i'd still give it to pop!

he changed his entire offense.. The chemistry of his team is high..everyone know there roles they really overachieved

D'Antoni won COY playing his style with a mediocre defense. There's more than one way to win in this league. Some teams have had great offense and good D and won. Mike has to get the team to play better D as he has done in the past. Thibs did a great job and deserves all the accolades he's getting.

BigSm00th wrote:G Corey Brewer(notes) was only on the floor about eight minutes in Game 1, but the Mavs were plus-11 in points with the swingman in the game. No one else on the team had a better plus-minus. Brewer scored five points and played some stellar defense in the third quarter.

“Brewer going in the game gave us a lot of energy,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “He ran the floor, hit a couple shots, he got deflections, he got his hand on balls, made things happen.”

corey brewer -- would've played for thibs, not good enough for

"if you are open, shoot it." mike d'antoni

"leave them open so they shoot it." -- defensive guru dan dantoni

According to Sarver, the only request the organization made after the 2006-07 season was that D’Antoni agree to hire a defensive-minded assistant coach to fill the vacancy created by Mark Iavaroni. Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver wanted to hire Tom Thibodeau, who was by consensus the best defensive-minded coach available. D’Antoni refused, and instead hired his brother, Dan D’Antoni to fill the vacancy.
I am not positive but I think old school Dan made the jump from high school head coach to nba assistant.