Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams was named the most sensible coach in qualifying Saturday after leading the Suns to an 8-0 record in the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida, according to Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press.
The Suns entered the bubble with the slightest hope of reaching the playoffs, but nearly managed to complete 10th place in the Western Conference at 34-39.
Phoenix finished with the same record as the Memphis Grizzlies in ninth place, Memphis earned a spot in the play-in series against the Portland Trail Blazers, 8th in the seed, with a tiebreaker.
Williams won 20 of the 21 first place votes, as shown through the effects through SNY’s Ian Begley:
Jacque Vaughn of Brooklyn finished third in the NBA coaches’ vote at the Seeding Games, according to the league. Nets’ Caris LeVert was named to the seeding All-NBA Games by the time team, along with former Knick Kristaps Porzingis. Former Knick Carmelo Anthony won the NBA All-Seeding Games: https://t.co/R0CCuNHkWv
Blazers head coach Terry Stotts won the other vote for first place and finished second, while Brooklyn Nets’ interim head coach Jacque Vaughn was third.
Suns base Devin Booker also gained a lot of attention for its functionality in Orlando. He was selected to the first team of the NBA Seeding Games and ended by the time Blazers superstar Damian Lillard in the NBA Seed Games voting.
Under Williams’ leadership, Booker averaged 30.5 points, 6.0 assists and 4.9 rebounds in the 8 games of the standings.
The 2019–2020 season is Williams’ first as head coach for the Suns and his sixth as NBA head coach after spending five seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Williams is 207-260 with two playoff appearances in his head-training career, but now there’s a lot of excitement around the Suns entering the 2020–21 season.
Phoenix has missed the playoffs of the last 10 seasons, but there’s a smart chance that the drought will end next season if the Suns play at a point close to their functionality in the bubble.
Booker, Deandre Ayton, Kelly Oubre Jr., Cameron Johnson and Mikal Bridges are an incredibly talented core, and based on what happened in Orlando, Williams may be the best coach to take them to the next level.
Lillard, Booker, Doncic, Harden and T.J. Warren creates the first full bubble
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