Newly-Minted NBA Coach Of The Year Drops Knowledge On Coaching Success

The Phoenix Suns find themselves in the thick of a playoff war with the Dallas Mavericks, but they have some sense of levity for now after it was reported that head coach Monty Williams has won the NBA Coach of the Year trophy.

Three-time NBA All-Star Devin Booker was the first to break the news after reporting the development on his Twitter, and Williams made an appearance on Inside the NBA to answer some questions about what led to this moment in his career.

NBA Hall of Famer-turned-analyst Shaquille O’Neal asked Williams about how different coaching now compared to their playing days.

“These guys are no different than we were, Shaq. They want to get better. They want to be in an environment where they’re allowed to be themselves, but they also want to be pushed,” said Williams on the broadcast.

“I don’t see it as that much of a difference, especially with the guys who are highly competitive and want to get better every day and want to win,” he added while also crediting the coaches he was under and have worked with, which includes the likes of Pat Riley, Jeff Van Gundy, Doc Rivers and Gregg Popovich."

Ever since he took on the role in Phoenix in May 2019, the Suns have experienced a massive turnaround of their franchise’s trajectory after going to the NBA Finals last season and are primed to repeat the same feat this year.

This season, Williams led the Suns to a franchise and league-best 64-18 record which allowed them to secure homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs.

However, injuries to key players throughout his tenure have seen guys like Cameron Johnson and Bismack Biyombo step up admirably, something that Williams attributes to his coaching staff.

“I know that our staff has a high care factor and they spend a ton of time in player development and putting our guys in situations that they might be in. My job is to not mess it up,” Williams told former Suns forward Charles Barkley.

“I feel that’s my job: to take a guy’s strengths and make them fit into what we do and then try to enhance some of the weaknesses without taking away their confidence or having them thinking on the floor.”

While reaching the Finals and potentially winning their first-ever NBA title is on the mind of this squad, they will first need to dispatch the Mavericks and whoever they face in the Western Conference Finals.

Williams and his coaching staff need to find a way to bounce back from two consecutive losses after allowing the Mavericks to tie the series at two apiece.

The pivotal Game 5 will be held on Tuesday, May 10 at the Suns’ home arena with the tip-off set at 10:00 PM ET.