We don't know which NBA head coach will win the Red Auerbach Trophy for Coach of the Year. Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is the odds-on favorite, with BetMGM Sportsbook closing its odds board at -150 odds on him.
With that in mind, RotoWire.com broke down where each NBA Coach of the Year finished in the postseason this century. We found a surprising lack of title winners among those that took home the honor in the 30-team league.
The NBA has announced its finalists for the 2025-26 Coach of the Year. Mazzulla is one of the three nominees, along with J.B. Bickerstaff of the Detroit Pistons and Mitch Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs. Voting is conducted by a panel of 100 sportswriters across North America.
Coach of the Year History and NBA Playoffs Trends
Some NBA fans and customers at sports betting apps might shy away from calling the lack of titles from Coach of the Year winners an outright "curse" in this century. But there does seem to be a pattern here.
Only one head coach, Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs, won a title the year he took home the award. He did it twice, in 2003 and 2014. Three other Red Auerbach Trophy winners (Larry Brown in 2001, Avery Johnson in 2006 and Steve Kerr in 2016) reached the NBA Finals before losing.
The most common finish for NBA Coach of the Year winners was the Conference Semifinal round. That happened eight times between 2000 and 2025. Defeats in the Conference Finals and first round of the playoffs happened six times apiece during that stretch.
Only one coach, Orlando's Doc Rivers in 2000, was voted the award winner for leading a team that missed the postseason. That speaks to the baseline requirement of the honor, which is to make the 16-team playoff field.
Can we learn more possible NBA betting trends from this information? Yes.
Joe Mazzulla Coach of the Year Odds and Celtics Title Chances
Mazzulla's quest to become the second head coach to win both the NBA's Coach of the Year and Larry O'Brien trophies in the same season is ongoing.
As of Friday, his Celtics are tied 3-3 with the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the Eastern Conference. A showdown with the New York Knicks, who eliminated the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday, awaits the winner.
DraftKings Sportsbook has the Celtics as the No. 3 title contender, at +600 odds, entering Saturday's Game 7 in Boston.
With another win over the Sixers, Mazzulla will ensure that the NBA Coach of the Year winner avoided flaming out in the first round. Celtics fans can only hope that this year's team goes a step (or more) further than the Cavaliers or Thunder, who both wound up losing in the Conference Semifinals after their head coaches won the award.
