Manning the sidelines for the NBA's lone remaining undefeated team, oddsmakers at FanDuel Sportsbook have rewarded Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers with the shortest odds to win the 2025 Coach of the Year award.
Here's an updated look at how Atkinson and the Association's other 29 coaches rank in the latest odds race for this hardware.
2025 NBA Coach of the year Odds
| Head Coach | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Kenny Atkinson | Cleveland Cavaliers | +185 |
| Joe Mazzulla | Boston Celtics | +700 |
| Mike Budenholzer | Phoenix Suns | +700 |
| Steve Kerr | Golden State Warriors | +750 |
| JJ Redick | Los Angeles Lakers | +2000 |
| Mark Daigneault | Oklahoma City Thunder | +2500 |
| Jamahl Mosley | Orlando Magic | +2600 |
| Tyronn Lue | Los Angeles Clippers | +2600 |
| Tom Thibodeau | New York Knicks | +2600 |
| Ime Udoka | Houston Rockets | +3000 |
| Chris Finch | Minnesota Timberwolves | +3000 |
| J.B. Bickerstaff | Detroit Pistons | +3000 |
| Charles Lee | Charlotte Hornets | +3000 |
Odds as of November 10, 2024 at FanDuel
NBA Coach Of The Year Betting Favorite: Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland Cavaliers
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Not this quickly, anyway. An 11-0 run to kick off the 2024-25 campaign can be attributed in large part to having a new voice in Atkinson, because the roster is essentially the same as it was last season.
With the No. 1 offense (122 points per 100 possessions), a top-10 defense (109.9 points allowed per 100 possessions), and a rejuvenated core that's bought into everything that Atkinson is preaching, despite it being early in an 82-game slate, Cleveland has proven that this stretch isn't a flash in the pan. Atkinson rightfully deserves to have the shortest odds because it's so incredibly rare for starts of this nature to occur when such a prominent position like coach gets a fresh coat of paint.
NBA Coach of the Year Darkhorse: Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
Rumors of the Golden State Warriors' demise following the summer departure of Klay Thompson were greatly exaggerated. If anything, his absence and the money that would have gone into re-signing him has been better served elsewhere, as the roster is deeper and more refined than it's perhaps ever been.
No one player on the roster is averaging at least 20 points per game, with eight different players contributing at least eight and another averaging over seven. That's resulted in the league's fourth-best offense, with Steve Kerr running rotations similar to what he did during the Olympic Games for Team USA with mass substitutions to maintain fresher legs.
Past 10 NBA Coach Of The Year Winners
| Year | Coach | Team | Team Record | Opening Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Mark Daigneault | Oklahoma City Thunder | 57-25 (.695) | +700 |
| 2023 | Mike Brown | Sacramento Kings | 48-34 (.585) | +8000 |
| 2022 | Monty Williams | Phoenix Suns | 64-18 (.740) | +2000 |
| 2021 | Tom Thibodeau | New York Knicks | 41-31 (.569) | +8000 |
| 2020 | Nick Nurse | Toronto Raptors | 46-18 (.719) | +2000 |
| 2019 | Mike Budenholzer | Milwaukee Bucks | 60-22 (.732) | +1100 |
| 2018 | Dwayne Casey | Toronto Raptors | 59-23 (.720) | +3000 |
| 2017 | Mike D'Antoni | Houston Rockets | 55-27 (.671) | +3000 |
| 2016 | Steve Kerr | Golden State Warriors | 73-9 (.890) | +575 |
| 2015 | Mike Budenholzer | Atlanta Hawks | 60-22 (.732) | +25000 |
With the opening odds stemming from the start of the preseason of each respective year, only two coaches since 2015 had better than 10-to-1 odds at that time and went on to ultimately win. Mike Budenholzer won with a staggering +25000 odds in 2015 after the Atlanta Hawks improved by an absurd 22 victories in the standings year to year.
Who Has Won The Most NBA Coach Of The Year Awards?
| Awards | Coach | Team(s) | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Don Nelson | Milwaukee Bucks (2), Golden State Warriors (1) | 1983, 1985, 1992 |
| 3 | Gregg Popovich | San Antonio Spurs | 2003, 2012, 2014 |
| 3 | Pat Riley | Los Angeles Lakers (1), New York Knicks (1), Miami Heat (1) | 1990, 1993, 1997 |
| 2 | Hubie Brown | Atlanta Hawks (1), Memphis Grizzlies (1) | 1978, 2004 |
| 2 | Mike Brown | Cleveland Cavaliers (1), Sacramento Kings (1) | 2009, 2023 |
| 2 | Mike Budenholzer | Atlanta Hawks (1), Milwaukee Bucks (1) | 2015, 2019 |
| 2 | Mike D'Antoni | Phoenix Suns (1), Houston Rockets (1) | 2005, 2017 |
| 2 | Bill Fitch | Cleveland Cavaliers (1), Boston Celtics (1) | 1976, 1980 |
| 2 | Cotton Fitzsimmons | Kansas City Kings (1), Phoenix Suns (1) | 1979, 1989 |
| 2 | Gene Shue | Baltimore Bullets (1), Washington Bullets (1) | 1969, 1982 |
| 2 | Tom Thibodeau | Chicago Bulls (1), New York Knicks (1) | 2011, 2021 |
Since its inception, the Coach of the Year has been given to forty different coaches, with Don Nelson, Gregg Popovich, and Pat Riley the only ones to win three different times. Riley is the only coach to do so with three different franchises, as well.
NBA Teams With Most Coach Of The Year Winners
| Awards | Team | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Atlanta Hawks | 1963, 1968, 1978, 1986, 1994, 2015 |
| 4 | Chicago Bulls | 1967, 1971, 1996, 2011 |
| 3 | Boston Celtics | 1965, 1973, 1980 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Lakers | 1972, 1990, 1995 |
| 3 | San Antonio Spurs | 2003, 2012, 2014 |
| 3 | Golden State Warriors | 1964, 1992, 2016 |
| 3 | Houston Rockets | 1977, 1991, 2017 |
| 3 | Milwaukee Bucks | 1983, 1985, 2019 |
| 3 | Toronto Raptors | 2007, 2018, 2020 |
| 3 | New York Knicks | 1970, 1993, 2021 |
| 3 | Phoenix Suns | 1989, 2005, 2022 |
| 3 | Sacramento Kings | 1975, 1979, 2023 |
Atlanta currently holds the distinction for being the only organization to have won six Coach of the Year awards, which includes the first-ever winner being Harry Galltin back in 1963. Richie Guerin, Hubie Brown, Mike Fratello, Lenny Wilkens, and Budenholzer also won while with the Hawks.
NBA Teams With Zero Coach Of The Year Winners
The following teams have never had an NBA Coach of the Year winner: Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, and Brooklyn Nets.
How To Read NBA Most Improved Player Odds
When you visit your NBA betting site of choice, you’ll notice 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year odds laid out like this:
- Joe Mazzulla +900
- Nick Nurse +1000
It's like a moneyline bet where favorites are shown by the minus sign (-) and underdogs have a plus sign (+). In this scenario, Joe Mazzulla is favored despite being at plus money. If you were to bet $100 on Mazzulla in the NBA Coach of the Year betting odds and it hits, you would win $1000 – your $100 is returned and you would get $900 in profit.
If you were to bet on which player will be named Coach of the Year, you would make a futures bet.
What Is A Futures Bet?
This is a bet made on events that will happen in time. In this case, it’s Coach of the Year. To make a futures bet, you would first use the handicapping info on this page to make your decision. Our Odds Calculator can give you an idea of how much you’d win based on the Coach of the Year odds and the amount of money you bet.
