Scott Awarded the 2007 08 NBA Coach of the Year

Today the NBA announces that the Head Coach Byron Scott from the Hornets was chosen for the award Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2007-08 NBA Coach of the Year. This award is named after Coach Red Auerbach who leaded the Celtics to 9 NBA Championships.

Scott is the first coach of the Hornets to receive the award, he guided the team to its first Southwest Division title and the team best wins season with 56. Scott conducted the Hornets to a 56-26 record and the second-best record in the exceedingly competitive Western Conference. The New Orleans Hornets also bust a club record of 26 road victories, concluding 26-15 on the road and winning in 17 of their last 26 road games.

“It is a tremendous honor to receive this prestigious award,” Scott said. “I have to give a lot of credit to my assistant coaches, players, general manager and owner. It has been a wonderful season for us coming back home to New Orleans, and I am proud to be a part of this organization and to be the head coach of such a tremendous group of young men who excel both on and off the court.”

Scott obtained 458 points, counting 70 first-place votes from a panel of 125 broadcasters and journalists’ all over the United States and Canada. For the other hand the coaches were granted five points for every first-place vote, three points for second-place vote and one point for every third-place vote.  Head Coach Doc Rivers from the Celtics got second with 242 points and Head Coach Rick Adelman from the Houston Rockets finished in third with 193 points.

Moreover Coach Scott was selected NBA Coach of the Month for January, after guiding the Hornets to a league-best 12-2 record.  On the break for the All Star game, the Hornets possessed the top winning percentage in the Western Conference and Scott was chosen to be the head coach for the Western Conference in the All Star Game in New Orleans, which was his second time as the All- Star head coach.

Scott and his team did not lose more than three straight games this season. The team’s highest winning line was of nine games.  The Hornets were 0-11 a year ago in opposition to the best three Western Conference teams, who were Dallas, Phoenix and San Antonio. This season, Scott leaded the Hornets to an 8-4 record along to those teams with two victories each over Dallas and San Antonio, and four wins against Phoenix.

“We are a very fortunate organization to have Coach Scott leading our team,” said Hornets Owner George Shinn. “It has been a storybook season for us and I am proud that Byron is being recognized for the great coaching job he has done for us not only this season, but for his career. Byron is a leader and a tremendous person who our players look up to and are proud to call their head coach,” General Manager Jeff Bower said. “We have enjoyed a record-setting season due, in large part, to the planning and execution of Byron and our coaching staff.”

Ally White is a top senior copy writer on NBA games and sports action for the online sportbook http://www.instantactionsports.com.  Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.