Suns: Monty Williams Demolished Coach of the Year Voting

On Monday, Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams was named the NBA's Coach of the Year in a special way.

Monty Williams' family surprises him with his 2021-22 NBA Coach of the Year Award! #NBAAwards #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/u8sOsxXRz3
— NBA (@NBA) May 9, 2022

The Suns have steadily improved in each season Williams has been at the helm, a sign of a true leader at his position on and off the court.

"If there's one award that exemplifies team, it's the Coach of the Year award because there's not a coach in the NBA that has bad intentions for the program or for the players," Williams said.

"Nobody walks into the gym and hopes that their guys play poorly and tells them not to work and, 'Please, don't play defense.' We don't do that. In order to get an award like this, it takes a lot of people."

Last season saw Phoenix make a magical run to the NBA Finals, while this year saw the Suns set a franchise record in regular season wins, gaining the west's No. 1 seed for the playoffs.

Williams also took home the National Basketball Coaches Association's Coach of the Year Award for the second straight season, which is voted on by his fellow coaches in the league.

Phoenix will again look to make another deep run into the postseason with Williams at the helm. Many believe he's capable of leading the Suns to where they want to be, and voters for the league's Coach of the Year award agreed.

Monty Williams Demolishes Coach of the Year Voting

In terms of first-place votes, the race wasn't even close. Williams' 81 votes in that category outpaced his peers in form similar to Secretariat's accomplishments in the world of horse racing, as the second-place finisher (Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins) received a mere 17 votes.

"Shoutout to Monty Williams, Coach of the Year. What a special season the Suns have had. Remarkable what him and his coaching staff are doing. Just want to give him a lot of props on receiving Coach of the Year award. He's doing a hell of a job," said Jenkins.

Williams became the third coach in Suns franchise history to win the award, following in the footsteps of Cotton Fitzsimmons (1988-89) and Mike D'Antoni (2004-05).

Only five recipients of the award went on to win the championship that same season, with San Antonio's Greg Popovich last accomplishing the feat in the 2013-14 campaign.