Coach of the Year – Quin Snyder
With the way that Quin Snyder was able to overcome so many injury struggles and missed games by key players last season and still help direct his team to the fifth seed in the West, it was an absolute travesty that he wasn’t considered one of the three finalists for the Coach of the Year Award. I was honestly in agreement with Mike D’Antoni earning the final nod, but for Quin to not finish in the top three was atrocious.
Even without injuries and other obstacles, he’s emerged as one of the most brilliant basketball minds in the game, with a prolific offensive style that gets the most out of whoever’s on the floor and a daunting defense that intimidates even the most elite teams in the league. Add that to the fact that he’s had to deal with several injuries once again this year and is in the midst of orchestrating an enormous turnaround from early season woes, and he absolutely deserves recognition as a Coach of the Year candidate this year.
Back on January 22nd after falling to the Atlanta Hawks, the Jazz were sitting at a dismal nine games below .500. The playoffs looked absolutely out of reach. Now, all of a sudden, the Jazz find themselves tied with the Denver Nuggets for ninth place in the West and mere percentage points behind the LA Clippers for the eighth and final playoff spot.
Teams take on the personality of their coach ! Tough and gritty = Quin Snyder ! Jazz have now won 15 of 17! #TakeNote#JazzNation
— Craig Bolerjack (@BuckleUpBoler) March 6, 2018
If Snyder is able to take a team that lost its two leading scorers last summer, lost its promising point guard prospect in Dante Exum during the preseason, went without Rudy Gobert for much of the first half of the season, has been led by a rookie for most of the year and was formerly nine games below .500, and eventually guide them to a postseason bid, he should absolutely be considered one of the frontrunners for Coach of the Year.
Heck, last season Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra led a comeback effort that was stunning, no doubt, but that eventually saw his team fall short of making the playoffs and he was still one of the Coach of the Year nominees. If the Jazz make the playoffs, Quin has to be in that conversation as well.
There are several coaches deserving of this honor, including Brad Stevens, Dwane Casey, Nate McMillan, Terry Stotts and of course the regularly touted Steve Kerr, Gregg Popovich and last year’s winner Mike D’Antoni. But depending how the conclusion of the season goes, I think Snyder has one of the most compelling and legitimate cases of the bunch considering how much he’s had to overcome and how far he may very well yet take his team this year.
The jury is still out on this one depending on how the Jazz ultimately finish the year, but by the looks of things as they stand presently, Quin Snyder is absolutely in the Coach of the Year conversation.