2021-22 NBA Coach Of The Year Betting Odds: Brooklyn Nets’ Steve Nash Opens As Favorite

2021-22 NBA Coach of the Year Betting Odds

Odds via BetMGM

The 2021-22 NBA season is right around the corner and as bettors start to focus on their futures for the regular season, it is worth noting that the Coach of the Year race offers solid all-around value, and conversely, immense value if you have a personal, early favorite for the award.

In most cases, zeroing in on the team you expect to finish with the best record is a safe bet for Coach of the Year.

Regardless of how much of an effect you feel a coach has on a talented team's record, recent winners show how important win percentage is to a coaches' chances at the award.

Recent winners such as Nick Nurse in 2020 (2nd best record in the league, 53 wins), Mike Budenholzer in 2019 (best record in the league, 60 wins) and Dwane Casey in 2018 (second-best record in the league, 59 wins) show that coaches of preseason favorites and dominant regular season teams are safe bets.

But if you want early value rather than waiting for teams to separate themselves from the pack and you don't believe in the favorite—this year, that would mean you are OUT on Nets head coach Steve Nash winning the award—then the next best bet is head coaches of teams that have a decent amount of room for year-to-year improvement.

Team's that increase their wins by a significant amount draw attention, and that explains why Donovan, Kerr, Kidd, and Ime Udoka are in the top 10.

Donovan's Bulls didn't make the postseason in 2021 with a 31-41 record, so more wins and a postseason appearance of any sort would definitely give him a strong case.

The Warriors and Celtics both underachieved on their way to appearances in the inaugural year of the Play-In Tournament.

Making the postseason while avoiding the play-in would help the case of Kerr and Udoka. Udoka is, of course, in his first year with the Celtics, while Kidd will be in his first year taking over for Rick Carlisle.

Head coaches taking over already talented teams get a fair amount of attention and rightfully so.

If Kidd and/or Udoka can keep the Mavericks and Celtics in the upper echelon of the West and East respectively, voters would likely view them as strong Coach of the Year candidates, seeing as they are both replacing top-tier coaches in Rick Carlisle and Brad Stevens.

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