Nuggets head coach George Karl talks with point guard Ty Lawson during the playoffs. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)
In recent years, George Karl has marked off major career accomplishments, and today he got another big one ? his first NBA Coach of the Year award.
With a roster of players that didn't have an All-Star, a schedule that put the Nuggets on the road for 22 of their first 32 games and injuries to key players, the Nuggets flourished under Karl's direction. They finished with a franchise-record 57 wins, had the league's best home record (38-3) and had streaks of 15 wins overall and 24 straight home wins. Their 57-25 mark was the fourth-best record in the NBA.
"I am honored and energized to represent coaching and be their ambassador as coach of the year and continue to symbolize the great coaching there is in the NBA," Karl said in a statement. "There are probably seven or eight guys who are deserving of it and another 10 or 15 other coaches who have done a great job and aren't getting any recognition."
The Nuggets finished third in the Western Conference, though they were upset by sixth-seeded Golden State in the first round.
But this is a regular season award, and the Nuggets were as good as most teams in the league. As a result, Karl received 404 votes, including 62 first-place votes. The award is voted on by a panel of 121 sports writers and broadcasters.
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra finished second in the voting followed by New York's Mike Woodson, San Antonio's Gregg Popovich and Indiana's Frank Vogel.
During the season, Karl earned two Western Conference coach of the month awards. He is the sixth-winningest coach in NBA history and his 1,131 wins are the most of any active coach.
The Nuggets have called an 11:30am press conference where he will be presented with the award.
He is the second coach in franchise history, after Doug Moe, to garner the honor.
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