Byron Scott Named NBA Coach of the Year

Boston head coach Doc Rivers came in second, followed by Rick Adelman of the Rockets.

New Orleans’ Byron Scott is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2007-08 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced today. Photo courtesy: Hornets

NEW YORK - New Orleans’ Byron Scott is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2007-08 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced today.

In his fourth season as the Hornets’ head coach, Scott received 458 points, including 70 first-place votes, from a panel of 125 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. 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. Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers was second with 242 points (23 first-place votes) and the Houston Rockets’ Rick Adelman was third with 193 points (17 first-place votes).

Scott, the first coach in Hornets history to receive the honor, led the franchise to its first Southwest Division title and a franchise-best 56-win season. Scott guided the team to a 56-26 (.683) record, an 18-game improvement over last season (38-43, .463) and the second-best record in the highly competitive Western Conference. The Hornets also broke a franchise record with 26 road wins, finishing at 26-15 on the road and winning 17 of their final 26 road games. The Hornets were 15-26 away from home a year ago.

Scott was named NBA Coach of the Month for January, after leading the Hornets to a league-best 12-2 record. At the All-Star break, the Hornets owned the highest winning percentage in the West, earning Scott the spot as head coach for the Western Conference All-Stars in New Orleans, his second appearance as an All-Star head coach (2002).

A candidate for the 2005-06 Coach of the Year award after leading the Hornets to an NBA-best 20-game turnaround, Scott and the Hornets did not lose more than three games in a row this season. The team’s longest winning streak of nine games was up from just four straight wins last season. New Orleans was 0-11 versus the top three Western Conference teams (Dallas, Phoenix, and San Antonio) a year ago; this year, Scott coached the Hornets to an 8-4 record against those teams with two wins each over Dallas and San Antonio, and four wins over Phoenix.

Scott joined the Hornets after three-and-a-half seasons with the New Jersey Nets, during which he compiled a 149-139 record and took the Nets from the bottom of the Eastern Conference (only three teams were worse the season before he arrived) to two consecutive appearances at The Finals (2001-02, 2002-03). In his first season with the Nets (2000-01), Scott posted a 26-56 mark only to coach the team to a 26-game turnaround (sixth-best improvement in NBA history) in 2001-02 and the franchise’s first-ever Atlantic Division Title.

The Coach of the Year Award is named after legendary coach and Hall of Famer Red Auerbach who guided the Celtics to nine NBA Championships. In 1996, Auerbach was honored as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History as the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary.

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