The 2023-24 NBA Coach of the Year honors was awarded to Mark Daigneault of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Leading this young OKC team to the best record in a hardened Western Conference, head coach Mark Daigneault got the nod of agreement from various executives league-wide. However, Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas doesn’t seem to agree with the COTY choice this year.
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Isiah Thomas recently went on X (formerly Twitter) to reveal who he felt should’ve won the Coach of the Year award this year. And the two-time NBA champion went with Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla instead.
“Big respect for coach Joe Mazzulla @celtics my coach of the year! Let it be known.”
https://twitter.com/IsiahThomas/status/1794471935692145040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The Oklahoma City Thunder had a great season, given the team’s average age and lack of veterans on the squad. This Thunder team finished with a 57-25 overall record, tied with the Denver Nuggets for first place. And taking this fairly young Thunder team to lead the West and make a decent playoff run only adds to Mark Daigneault’s resume as a head coach.
However, Isiah Thomas felt Joe Mazzulla was a more deserving candidate instead. Mazzulla led the Celtics to not just the best record in the East but the entire NBA. The C’s finished with a 64-18 season record, bulldozing teams as they climbed the top of the ladder.
While Thomas did not disrespect Mark Daigneault and his hard work this past season, he wanted it to be known that Joe Mazzulla had his respect and his nod of agreement for the Coach of the Year award instead.
Also, Mazzulla giving props to Jaylen Brown after his 40-point night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals might also have been a reason that compelled Thomas to share that Joe had his vote of confidence and should’ve been awarded the COTY.
“Just making the right play, poise, patience, discipline.”
Mazzulla giving all the credit to Brown and his players was just another indication of why Zeke went with the Celtics’ head coach as his choice of pick instead of Mark Daigneault’s success with the Thunder this year.
In fact, at the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, Isiah Thomas called the Boston Celtics to win an NBA championship this year. According to SportsIllustrated, after the team went on to acquire Kristaps Porziņģis, IT was confident that it was the C’s year this season.
“Maybe Porzingis is the missing piece. They have all the pieces, and should be favored to win it all.”
The Boston Celtics are currently in battle with the Indiana Pacers to advance to the NBA Finals. Can they get past one of their former rival teams and win it all this year?
