The NBA on Monday revealed Kenny Atkinson, JB Bickerstaff and Ime Udoka as the three finalists for the 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year award.
Atkinson guided the Cleveland Cavaliers to the best record in the Eastern Conference in his first season with the franchise.
Cleveland finished 64-18, leading the league in offensive rating and ranking second in point differential.
Bickerstaff, who previously coached in Cleveland, took over a rebuilding Detroit Pistons team and turned them into a playoff contender.
The Pistons went 44-38 and earned the No. 6 seed in the East after finishing last in the conference just a year earlier.
Udoka, in his second year with the Houston Rockets, oversaw the team’s leap to the No. 2 seed in the West with a 52-30 record.
The three coaches each led their squads to significant win improvements and playoff berths despite entering the season with limited external expectations.
Cleveland’s 64-win campaign was the franchise’s best since the LeBron James era.
Detroit posted its first winning season since 2018 and made the playoffs for the first time in six years.
Houston advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2020, securing home-court advantage in the first round.
The NBA will announce the Coach of the Year winner during the 2025 NBA Playoffs as part of the league’s annual awards rollout.
