The far-too-early betting odds for 2025 NBA Coach of the Year have been released, and Tom Thibodeau (+850) of the New York Knicks and Ime Udoka (+850) of the Houston Rockets are currently locked as the favorites.
Here's a look at where Thibodeau, Udoka, and the Association's 28 other coaches currently sit in the odds for the end-of-season honor.
2025 NBA Coach of the year Odds
| Head Coach | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Thibodeau | New York Knicks | +850 |
| Ime Udoka | Houston Rockets | +850 |
| Taylor Jenkins | Memphis Grizzlies | +900 |
| Nick Nurse | Philadelphia 76ers | +1000 |
| Mark Daigneault | Oklahoma City Thunder | +1200 |
| Chris Finch | Minnesota Timberwolves | +1400 |
| Jamahl Mosley | Orlando Magic | +1500 |
| Joe Mazzulla | Boston Celtics | +1600 |
| Willie Green | New Orleans Pelicans | +2000 |
| Gregg Popovich | San Antonio Spurs | +2000 |
| Erik Spoelstra | Miami Heat | +2000 |
| Jason Kidd | Dallas Mavericks | +2500 |
| Mike Budenholzer | Phoenix Suns | +2500 |
| Ric Carlisle | Indiana Pacers | +2500 |
| Doc Rivers | Milwaukee Bucks | +2500 |
| JJ Redick | Los Angeles Lakers | +2500 |
Odds as of August 26, 2024
NBA Coach Of The Year Betting Favorite: Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks
Thibodeau already has one Red Auerbach trophy on his mantle while manning the sidelines with the Knicks, and he could become the fourth coach ever to win the hardware on four separate occasions and the third with multiple franchises.
His stock rose even more so during New York's postseason run with several of his key rotation players missing time due to injury. Even so, the Knicks became the darlings of the playoffs with a never-say-die attitude and a slim rotation where players like Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo needed to play heavy minutes by design, which is usually a staple of Thibodeau's coaching style.
With the offseason acquisition of Mikal Bridges, the 2024-25 Knicks may be the best roster Thibodeau has ever had, and that could bring him yet another individual accolade to help cement what's already a hall-of-fame worthy career.
NBA Coach of the Year Darkhorse: Taylor Jenkins, Memphis Grizzlies
Voters love a good comeback story, and the Memphis Grizzlies are in a position to return to glory on a significant level after a 2023-24 campaign in which all of their key players missed long stretches with a litany of ailments.
When healthy, the Grizzlies are a proven playoff contender and yet another team to throw into the mix for a top seed in the loaded Western Conference. Even though Memphis only won a grand total of 27 games, oddsmakers currently have their OVER/UNDER for victories this upcoming season set at 47.5, which goes to show how credible a team it can be with a full deck of cards.
If the Grizzlies hover around that number, that could result in a win increase of 20 games, and that will be tough to ignore in the Coach of the Year race.
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.
