Thibodeau Wins NBA Coach Of The Year

The NBA announced today that Chicago’s Tom Thibodeau has won the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2010-11 NBA Coach of the Year.

In his first season as a head coach, Thibodeau guided Chicago to a league-best 62-20 (.756) record, the most wins for a Chicago team since the 1997-98 Bulls also won 62.

The 62 wins represented a 21-game improvement from the Bulls’ 41-41 record last year -- the third-best single-season turnaround in franchise history. Chicago was one of two teams this season, along with Boston, that did not lose more than two games in a row.

With the defensive-minded Thibodeau at the helm, the Bulls’ defense held teams to 91.3 points per game, ranking second in that category to the Celtics (91.1 ppg). Chicago held opponents under their scoring average 59 times, going 52-7 in those games. It also held opponents to 85 or fewer points an NBA-best 29 times (27-2).

But Thibodeau's true accomplishment this season went beyond merely improving the team's defense.  Under his leadership, several players exhibited improvement, particularly star point guard Derrick Rose, who had a breakthrough year and became an MVP candidate.

In addition, Thibodeau assisted in Luol Deng's development, as Deng further established himself as a reliable scorer at the 3.  He also incorporated free agent acquisition Carlos Boozer fairly seamlessly with the team after Boozer missed much of the early part of the season due to injury.

And he did it all without a bona fide starter at the 2 opposite Rose, as the Bulls were forced to use a committee-style approach alternating Keith Bogans, Kyle Korver, and Ronnie Brewer at the position.

Thibodeau was named NBA Coach of the Month three times this season. He also joined Paul Westphal and Bill Russell as the only head coaches in NBA history to win 60 or more games in their first year as a head coach. Thibodeau is only the third rookie head coach to enter the postseason as the number 1 seed, joining Westphal and Jerry West (Los Angeles, 1976-77).

A career assistant before joining the Bulls organization, Thibodeau served the previous three seasons as the Associate Head Coach of the Celtics, helping guide Boston to Finals appearances and the 2008 NBA championship.

Thibodeau totaled 475 points, including 76 first-place votes, from a panel of 119 sportswriters and broadcasters. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com