What are his chances for Coach of the Year?
NBA.Com released their players and coaches of the month awards on Monday. Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka took home Western Conference coach of the month for January. How does this affect the coach of the year race? Does Ime Udoka have a case?
According to Draft Kings, Ime Udoka has +450 odds (roughly 18% chance) to win coach of the year this puts him ahead of ahead of coaches such as Taylor Jenkins (Memphis Grizzlies), JB Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons), and Jamal Mosley (Orlando Magic). This means Udoka is behind only Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Kenny Atkinson who is at -400 odds (roughly 80% chance to win) So with that said who deserves it more?
The Case for Udoka
I think Ime Udoka is deserving of Coach of The Year over Kenny Atkinson as Houston has improved drastically this season. It is safe to say nobody expected Houston to go from a 500-record to being a top-three seed in the Western Conference. Now compare this to Cleveland. Sure, I do not think anyone expected Cleavland would be as good as they have been this season, but they were the fourth seed last season. Also, the Western Conference is known to be more competitive than the Eastern Conference historically.
The Case for Atkinson
However, it is clear that records are taken into account when it comes to Coach of the Year. Three out of the last five Coach of the Year winners were coaches who coached a team that was top two in their conference (Nick Nurse with the Raptors in 2020, Mark Daigneault with OKC in 2024, and Monty Williams in 2022 . Additionally, to negate the point previously made, I do think this season the Eastern Conference is stronger than the Western Conference this season, particularly at the top.
What do you all think? Does Udoka have a real shot at Coach of the Year, or is Atkinson a shoe-in?