The 2025 NBA Coach of the Year award appears to be Kenny Atkinson's to lose, with the man on the sidelines for the Cleveland Cavaliers currently at minus money at -135 betting odds with no other coach greater than 5-to-1.
Here's a look at where other contenders for the Red Auerbach trophy currently sit in the odds race, and if anyone is capable of knocking Atkinson off of his pedestal.
2025 NBA Coach of the year Odds
| Head Coach | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Kenny Atkinson | Cleveland Cavaliers | -135 |
| Ime Udoka | Houston Rockets | +500 |
| Taylor Jenkins | Memphis Grizzlies | +525 |
| Jamahl Mosley | Orlando Magic | +650 |
| Joe Mazzulla | Boston Celtics | +3000 |
| Mark Daigneault | Oklahoma City Thunder | +3000 |
| Tyronn Lue | Los Angeles Clippers | +3000 |
| Quin Snyder | Atlanta Hawks | +5000 |
Odds as of December 26, 2024 at BetMGM
NBA Coach Of The Year Betting Favorite: Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland Cavaliers (-135)
Living up to the historically-hot 15-game winning streak to kick off the regular season was going to prove a tall task for Cleveland, but lo and behold, here the team currently sits with the best record in not just the Eastern Conference, but all of basketball at a staggering 26-4 SU.
The Cavaliers own the No. 1 overall offense and No. 7 defense, and lest we forget that the team didn't undergo any major offseason changes beyond replacing former coach J.B. Bickerstaff with Atkinson. The year-over-year improvements are incredibly impressive for what's still a young core on the ascension, so taking Cleveland to new heights once thought to be unreachable rightfully places Atkinson at the top of the leaderboard.
NBA Coach of the Year Darkhorse: Jamahl Mosley, Orlando Magic (+650)
How much more adversity does the Orlando Magic have to overcome? Losing Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to serious oblique injuries, forcing each player to miss months of action, was enough of a pill to swallow, but now having Moritz Wagner gone for the year with a torn ACL is pouring salt in the fresh wound.
The fact that Orlando hasn't fallen off a cliff through all of these injuries and still maintains a top-four seed in the East is a testament to Jamahl Mosley's coaching, philosophies, and schemes. Not many coaches could have guided a roster through such trials and tribulations and emerge from it all still smelling like roses.
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.
