Tom Thibodeau Named Coach of the Year

It was a fairly simple, and controversy-free, call for who the best coach in the L was this season. The Daily Herald has the details of Tom Thibodeau’s win, and a hint about another major award possibly on its way to Chicago very soon: “In his first season as an NBA head coach, Thibodeau led the Bulls to the NBA’s best record at 62-20. That matched Paul Westphal (Phoenix, 1992-93) for the best record by a first-year coach. There have been several instances of a first-time head coach winning coach of the year, including Rick Carlisle (Detroit, 2002), Doc Rivers (Orlando, 2000) and Larry Bird (Indiana, 1998). He’s the Bulls’ fourth coach of the year, following Johnny “Red” Kerr (’67), Dick Motta (’71) and Phil Jackson (’96). Look for the Derrick Rose MVP news conference to happen Tuesday … Thibodeau got 76 of 119 first-place votes (64 percent).”