The NBA Coach of the Year award is an annual honor presented to the head coach who has made the most significant impact on their team's success during the regular season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, named after the legendary Boston Celtics coach who led his franchise to nine championships.
The current reigning Coach of the Year is Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers, who won the 2024–25 award after leading his team to a 64–18 record and the top seed in the Eastern Conference in his first season with the franchise.
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Join FanDuel today and claim your welcome bonus: Bet $5, Get $100 in Bonus Bets if Your Bet Wins.
| NBA Coach of the Year Candidates | Odds |
|---|---|
| J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons) | -135 BET HERE |
| Jordan Ott (Suns) | +400 BET HERE |
| Joe Mazzulla (Celtics) | +600 BET HERE |
| Mitch Johnson (Spurs) | +1000 BET HERE |
| Charles Lee (Hornets) | +1500 BET HERE |
| David Adelman (Nuggets) | +2000 BET HERE |
| Darko Rajakovic (Raptors) | +3000 BET HERE |
| Erik Spoelstra (Heat) | +7500 BET HERE |
| Mike Brown (Knicks) | +20000 BET HERE |
Rest of the candidates listed at +25000 odds and higher.
Darko Rajakovic is a compelling candidate for the 2026 NBA Coach of the Year due to the Toronto Raptors' dramatic turnaround from a 30-win lottery team to a top-four force in the Eastern Conference. By early February 2026, he has guided the roster to a 30-21 record—already matching last year's win total—while implementing a "0.5-second" European-style offense predicated on ball movement.
Rajakovic’s ability to integrate Brandon Ingram seamlessly and elevate Scottie Barnes into elite territory, all while maintaining a top-seven defense despite injuries to key starters like Jakob Poeltl, recently earned him the honor of coaching Team World at the 2026 All-Star Game.
Betting on this season’s NBA Coach of the Year winner is a quick and easy process, but it can be hard for new bettors to understand.
Start by visiting BetMGM or your favorite sportsbook. Navigate to the NBA page, where there will be a tab labeled “Futures”. Look for the “Awards” category, and you will find the odds for this one.
We always recommend spending time researching NBA future bets before you place them. Even a small amount of time spent on looking at stats, trends, and other news can make a massive difference in the bottom line of any bettor.
Reading the odds for the NBA Coach of the Year works the same as your standard sports bets.
When reading odds from a sportsbook, you’ll see numbers with a (+) or (-) in front of them. The plus sign means that you will win the number after it when betting $100. If the number has a minus sign, you need to bet that amount to win $100.
If you find the words “EVEN” or “PICK,” it means that no spread is available for that game. This is usually reserved for close games where bookmakers aren’t willing to establish either team as a favorite.
The NBA Coach of the Year is one of the newest awards in the league, making it hard to gauge who will win this season. While that can make betting tricky, it also makes it difficult for bookmakers to set odds, which can lead to larger payouts.
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The NBA launched the Most Coach of the Year award in 1963, with Harry Gallatin of the St. Louis Hawks winning it. The Cleveland Cavaliers' Kenny Atkinson won the award last season, marking his first win.
Below is a list of the NBA Coach of the Year from the previous ten seasons.
| Year | NBA Coach of the Year |
|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Kenny Atkinson |
| 2023-24 | Mark Daignesult (OKC) |
| 2022-23 | Mike Brown |
| 2021-22 | Monty Williams |
| 2020-21 | Tom Thibodeau |
| 2019-20 | Nick Nurse |
| 2018-19 | Mike Budenholzer |
| 2017-18 | Dwane Casey |
| 2016-17 | Mike D’Antoni |
| 2015-16 | Steve Kerr |
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