The Coach of the Year award for the NBA is always hard to gauge since it’s subjective. Some believe that it should solely be based on a team’s record. Others think that it should be based on exceeding preseason expectations. Combining these two factors, the Coach of the Year for the 2019-20 NBA season is Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors.
The 2020 NBA Coach of the Year
Preseason Expectations
Heading into the 2019-20 season, the Raptors were expected to be decent, but nowhere near the level that they achieved in 2018-19 where they won 58 games in the regular season and an NBA championship. The team’s best player, Kawhi Leonard, left at the end of free agency for the Los Angeles Clippers. Danny Green, the team’s starting shooting guard, also left and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. The only free agent signings the Raptors had were former top 10 pick Stanley Johnson and former Brooklyn Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. With no real replacements in free agency, fans were doubtful that the Raptors could replicate their 2018-19 success.
Players Stepping Up
With the season currently on hold, the Raptors are 46-18, good for second in the Eastern Conference. They also currently have a higher win percentage (.719) than last year’s team (.707). The Raptors ended up starting Witchita State guard Fred VanVleet at shooting guard and 2017 first-round pick OG Anunoby at small forward. Both responded with career years. VanVleet is averaging 17.6 points, 6.6 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 38.8 percent from three. Anunoby is shooting 50 percent from the floor and 38 percent from three while being solid on the defensive end of the floor. Backup shooting guard Norman Powell is also having a career year. The fifth-year pro is averaging career highs across the board (including 16.4 points per game) now that he is getting starters minutes and is doing so on efficient shooting (50 percent from the field and 40 percent from three).
Building off of Last Year
Last year’s Most Improved Player, Pascal Siakam, made another leap this season. He is averaging 23.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as the number one option on the team. Kyle Lowry, the longest-tenured Raptor and starting point guard, is having his best season since 2016-17 as the number two option on offense. Serge Ibaka, the backup center to Marc Gasol, is averaging career highs in points (16.0) and rebounds (8.3) per game. He has filled in admirably when Gasol has dealt with injuries this season. The Raptor’s defense has been a huge part of their success this season. They have the second-best defensive rating in the league, a value which estimates points allowed per 100 possesions. This is an improvement from last year, where they ranked fifth in the NBA. The Raptors are also second in the league in steals per game (8.8).
The Verdict
Nick Nurse has taken a Toronto team that nobody gave a chance to and have turned them into contenders in the East. After firing Coach of the Year Dwayne Casey in 2018 for Nick Nurse, many questioned whether General Manager Masai Ujiri knew what he was doing. It is now clear that the Raptors have developed a strong culture and farm system filled with young talent. It was a given that the Raptors would fall off the face of the earth after their surprising 2019 championship, but they have proved to the NBA that they are here to stay for the foreseeable future.
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