PHOENIX — Monty Williams now has the honor that his Phoenix Suns players have been clamoring that he receive for two years: NBA’s Coach of the Year.
Good luck getting him to take credit.
“I’ve often said about my life that God knocks the ball out of the park and I get to run the bases,” Williams said. “Yeah, my name goes on the plaque, but my name represents a lot of names.”
The 50-year-old Williams won the award on Monday after leading the Suns to a franchise-record 64 wins during the regular season. They were NBA’s best team by far, finishing with eight more wins than any other team.
Williams’ Suns are tied 2-2 with the Mavericks in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series. Game 5 is Tuesday night in Phoenix, and the Suns are coming off two straight losses in Dallas.
Williams joins Cotton Fitzsimmons (1988-89) and Mike D’Antoni (2004-05) as coaches who have won the award with the Suns.
The runner-up to New York’s Tom Thibodeau last season, Williams was the runaway winner this time. He received 81 of 100 first-place votes from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters, finishing with 458 points.
Memphis’ Taylor Jenkins was second with 17 first-place votes and 270 points. Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and Boston’s Ime Udoka also received a first-place vote.
Williams is known for his calming presence on the sideline and tight relationships with players. He was brought to Phoenix in 2019 to rebuild a franchise that had been among the worst in the NBA over the previous decade and quickly delivered, especially once 12-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul signed with the Suns in 2020.
Williams said bonding with his players and their families has been rewarding.
“It’s probably more important than everything that we do, from the X’s and O’s to the drills, to even playing games,” Williams said. “I’ve probably lost out on jobs because people thought I was more interested in the relationship piece than the competition piece. I think they both go hand in hand.”
Phoenix All-Star guards Paul and Devin Booker both posted on social media earlier Monday.
Said Booker on Twitter: “Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams has been voted the NBA’s COY, book tells sources. A formal announcement is expected later today.”
Paul added: “WD WS…Congrats Coach Mont on Coach of the Year!!” The WD WS reference is a motto for the Suns, which means well done is better than well said.
Phoenix won a franchise-record 18 consecutive games from Oct. 30 to Dec. 2, including a 16-0 record in November. That was tied for the second-most wins in a month without a loss in NBA history, trailing Atlanta’s 17-0 record in January 2015.
Williams led the Suns to the NBA Finals last season, where they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games.
‘Something has to be done’
Williams said the NBA should consider having a special section in the stands reserved for the families of visiting teams in the wake of Paul’s family being harassed during Sunday’s playoff game in Dallas.
The incident happened during Game 4.
ESPN reported that members of Paul’s family had been harassed by fans and that some in the crowd made physical contact with them. The Mavericks said the fan was ejected.
“It’s a hard one, because it’s happening more and more,” Williams said Monday at practice. “The situations are getting to a place now where I really feel like families, who are there to support their loved ones, need to be protected a bit more. Whether or not we have to give these people a section, a suite, something has to be done.
Suns guard Chris Paul, bottom, was livid that his family was harassed during Sunday's Game 4 in Dallas.
“Because we can’t wait for it to get to a level or two higher, before we do what we need to do. Yesterday was unnecessary.”
The Mavericks said after the game they were aware of the incident between a fan and Paul’s family at American Airlines Center. Williams said he didn’t know the extent of the harassment in real time because the game was still being played.
The Mavericks said in a statement on Monday the offending fans had been banned from the arena for eight months.
After the game, Paul tweeted: “Wanna fine players for saying stuff to the fans but the fans can put they hands on our families.” He also added an expletive.
Paul didn’t speak to the media after Monday’s practice.
The NBA has had several moments of conflict between fans and players or their families over the past few seasons, including an incident earlier this season when LeBron James had two fans ejected in a game in Indiana.
Suns forward Cam Johnson said a similar situation happened in Milwaukee last season during the NBA Finals when his girlfriend was hit in the back of the head and had beer spilled on her. Johnson said he didn’t hear about it until after the game.
“It was kind of a big scene,” Johnson said. “It really frustrated me.”
Johnson said security in Milwaukee handled the situation and that the fan was kicked out. He said security can only do so much to keep families safe.
“A large part of the responsibility has to be on fans,” Johnson said. “They just can’t act that way. There’s no other way around it. You’ve got to address the problem with the real problem. It’s that a fan can’t go up to someone’s mother and harass them.”
