Bill Laimbeer Named 2015 WNBA Coach of the Year: Details, Comments and Reaction
The New York Liberty finished with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference a year ago, so it's no surprise the WNBA's 2015 Coach of the Year Award was bestowed upon Bill Laimbeer after he led the Big Apple ballers to a league-best mark of 23-11.
According to the league's official website, Laimbeer received 23 of a possible 38 votes in order to run away with the coveted honor.
| 23 | Bill Laimbeer | New York Liberty |
| 7 | Stephanie White | Indiana Fever |
| 6 | Brian Agler | Los Angeles Sparks |
| 1 | Sandy Brondello | Phoenix Mercury |
| 1 | Pokey Chatman | Chicago Sky |
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Laimbeer has now taken home Coach of the Year hardware twice after nabbing it during the 2003 season as the leader of the Detroit Shock.
New York Liberty president Isiah Thomas congratulated Laimbeer with a post on Twitter:
Not only did the Liberty post an eight-game improvement in the win column, but they did so by playing a fierce defensive style that was fitting for a team led by the former Detroit Pistons bruiser.
En route to clinching the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs, the Liberty held opponents to a league-best 39.3 percent shooting from the field. Additionally, New York surrendered a WNBA-best 71.1 points per game while crashing the boards at the league's most efficient rate (36.7 per game).
"First and foremost, the chemistry of the ballclub is outstanding," Laimbeer said in August, according to the New York Times' Victor Mather. "The internal leadership is phenomenal; it takes a lot of pressure off the coaching staff."
Led by Tina Charles and Epiphanny Prince, the Liberty formed a solid foundation for Laimbeer to work with. Charles finished fourth in the WNBA in scoring average (17.1 points per game) and second in rebounding (8.5 per game), while Prince paced the defense with two steals a night.
Laimbeer and the Liberty will now look to build on a fruitful regular season when their conference semifinal playoff series against the Washington Mystics begins Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
All statistics courtesy of WNBA.com unless noted otherwise.
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