Steve Kerr Wins Coach of the Year Award

Steve Kerr helped steer the Golden State Warriors to the greatest regular season in NBA history, and for his troubles, he’s been named the 2015-16 NBA Coach of the Year.

Kerr missed the first 43 games after undergoing a pair of back operations, but under the Dubs never missed a beat under assistant coach Luke Walton

The last Warriors coach to win this award is Don Nelson (1992).

Per ESPN:

Complications from two offseason back surgeries forced Kerr to miss the first 43 games of Golden State’s title defense — with interim coach Luke Walton posting a record of 39-4 in Kerr’s absence — but he ultimately won the balloting in a very deep field not only for his coaching but his role in building the culture that put the Warriors on a path for a record-setting 73 wins.

 

Fueled by a 24-0 start, which bettered the previous league record for an unbeaten launch to an NBA season by nine games, Golden State went 73-9 in the regular season to trump the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the best single-season mark in league history.

 

Kerr finished second in Coach of the Year balloting behind Atlanta’s Mike Budenholzer last season, which was Kerr’s first season as a head coach. That team went 67-15 en route to winning the Warriors’ first championship in 40 years.