The 2025 NBA Coach of the Year award remains Kenny Atkinson’s to lose, with the man on the sidelines for the Cleveland Cavaliers currently at minus money at -700 betting odds as of February 16, 2025, with Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets the only other candidate greater than 10-to-1 (+900).
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.
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2025 NBA Coach of the year Odds
| Head Coach | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Kenny Atkinson | Cleveland Cavaliers | -700 |
| Ime Udoka | Houston Rockets | +900 |
| J.B. Bickerstaff | Detroit Pistons | +1600 |
| Taylor Jenkins | Memphis Grizzlies | +2500 |
| Mark Daigneault | Oklahoma City Thunder | +3000 |
| JJ Redick | Los Angeles Lakers | +5000 |
| Tyronn Lue | Los Angeles Clippers | +15000 |
| Joe Mazzulla | Boston Celtics | +25000 |
| Tom Thibodeau | New York Knicks | +30000 |
| Michael Malone | Denver Nuggets | +30000 |
Odds as of February 16, 2025 at BetMGM
NBA Coach Of The Year Betting Favorite: Kenny Atkinson, Cleveland Cavaliers (-700)
Barring the Cavaliers losing every single one of their remaining games to close out the regular season, Atkinson’s Coach of the Year win is very much in the bag through 54 games. His team reigns supreme atop the Eastern Conference at 44-10, which is identical to that of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s win-loss mark for the best across the Association, and is also a full 5.5-games ahead of the reigning champion Boston Celtics. Any worry that Cleveland was simply a flash in the pan success story that started hot and couldn’t maintain has long been put to rest.
With a near identical roster to the one trotted out last season, at least prior to the team acquiring De’Andre Hunter ahead of the trade deadline, the Cavaliers’ ability to maximize its core group and thrust itself into title contention is a credit to Atkinson’s coaching.
NBA Coach of the Year Darkhorse: J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit Pistons (+1600)
Ironically enough, the man who Atkinson replaced in Cleveland has done quite alright for himself in 2024-25 with the Detroit Pistons, taking the laughing stock of the league a year ago and turning them into playoff contender. Detroit already has 15 more victories to its name at 29-26 after going the entire 2023-24 campaign winning 14 in total, and there’s still 27 more outings to build on that number.
The players are buying into what J.B. Bickerstaff is preaching, as this goes well beyond the front office bringing aboard credible players to surround All-Star Cade Cunningham with to create a winner. The Pistons rank in the top-half of the league in offense (15th) and defense (12th), and could qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2019 and not even need the play-in tournament to secure a spot.
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.
