News broke Tuesday morning that Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr has been voted as the NBA Coach of the Year for the 2015-16 season.
Warriors' Steve Kerr wins the 2016 NBA Coach of the Year award https://t.co/95f8VFtlP7 pic.twitter.com/TV7ostQRpF
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) April 26, 2016
Upon initial review it seems obvious that the head coach of a record-breaking 73 win would have to win the ward, but when you consider Kerr didn’t coach the first 43 games of the season it makes for a very unique set of circumstances and makes the validity of his designation as coach of the year at least debatable.
The Warriors went 39-4 with Luke Walton filling in for Kerr this season and 30-6 with Kerr back at the helm.
Here is how the final voting turned out:
Warriors' Steve Kerr edges out Blazers' Terry Stotts as 2016 NBA Coach of the Year pic.twitter.com/ABrd6Vdgtm
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 26, 2016
Terry Stotts gave Kerr a good run for his money and Kerr’s interim replacement Walton received five votes.
Although you can debate Kerr’s winning of this award, Walton basically was utilizing and conveying Kerr’s system on auto-pilot the first half of the season and when you consider the historical nature of the Warriors season, Kerr is the right choice. Although it must be said that Gregg Popovich could win this award every single year.
Although Kerr’s coaching mettle will be put to the test with Steph Curry on the sidelines for at least the next two weeks.
