In a poll of his peers, Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey was voted Coach of the Year, while Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens received zero votes, reports Marc Stein of the New York Times:
In a vote of his peers, Dwane Casey of the Toronto Raptors has been selected as the National Basketball Coaches Association’s coach of the year for the 2017-18 season — while Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics stunningly failed to win a single vote from fellow coaches.
Casey coached the Raptors to the no. 1 seed in the East with a franchise-best 59-23 record. He is a strong contender for Coach of the Year, so him winning this poll isn’t all that surprising. The surprising part is Stevens, who coached the Celtics to a 55-27 record, the second-best record in the East, not receiving a single vote. Stevens’ Celtics achieved great success despite…
- Losing Gordon Hayward to a season-ending injury five minutes of the season.
- Having Kyrie Irving miss 22 games.
- Having Marcus Smart miss 28 games.
- Having Daniel Theis miss 19 games.
Stevens is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the NBA and is Las Vegas’ favorite to win the award.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas, whom Stevens coached prior to an All-NBA season to the Kyrie Irving trade, responded to this news, voicing his opinion that Stevens is “by far” the league’s best coach.
The Raptors were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the playoffs, while the Celtics lead the Philadelphia 76ers 3-1 heading into Game 5, but that won’t affect the Coach of the Year award, since it’s for the regular season.
Stevens responded to the poll, shrugging off the lack of recognition. From ESPN’s Chris Forsberg:
“The way that thing works is you get one vote. And I’m telling you, I looked at the sheet and there’s no way that I would have voted for me over any of the other 29 people,” said Stevens. “And the guy that should have won got it. And the other guys that got votes, they’re unbelievable.
