Suns' Monty Williams Voted NBCA Coach of the Year for 2nd Straight Season

After leading the Phoenix Suns to the NBA's best record during the regular season, Monty Williams has been honored by his peers as the league's top coach. 

As first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Williams has been voted the National Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. 

Williams is in his third season as Suns head coach. They missed the playoffs in his first season with the club in 2019-20, but their eight-game winning streak in the Orlando bubble was the biggest indication that things were improving for a franchise that had been floundering.  

The addition of Chris Paul in a November 2020 trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder proved to be the final piece of the puzzle.

The Suns went 51-21 last season, finishing second in the Western Conference and making the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10. They defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers en route to reaching the NBA Finals for the third time in franchise history. 

Things have been even better on the court in Phoenix so far this season. Williams led the team to a franchise-record 64 wins.

The Suns were eight games better than any other team in the NBA during the regular season. They led the league in net rating (plus-7.5), per Basketball Reference. 

Before Williams' arrival, the Suns had just one winning season from 2010-19. They had six different head coaches during that span, including interim coaches Lindsey Hunter (2013), Earl Watson (who was later hired as the full-time head coach) and Jay Triano (2017-18). 

The NBCA Coach of the Year award was first given out in 2016-17. Williams and Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer (2018-19, 2019-20) are the only coaches to win the award multiple times.