NBA: Spurs' Popovich wins third Coach of the Year award

(Updated - April 23, 7:26am)  San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich credits his players for rebounding in resilient fashion from what he considers the most devastating defeat in his coaching tenure with the franchise - game six of the 2013 NBA Finals - to post the best record in the league a year later.

Popovich's players and a panel of voters are inclined to give the veteran coach some of that credit.

Popovich is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2013-14 NBA Coach of the Year. Popovich, who accepted the award after a playoff walkthrough Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time), said he owes much of the credit to general manager R.C. Buford - never honored as executive of the year - and owner Peter Holt.

"I'm very honored, for a whole lot of reasons," he said. "First of all, because there are so many coaches that did such a great job this year. A lot of people were really special, and to be singled out is pretty humbling. I know I've been very lucky for a good number of years, and I know full well that I just represent part of what goes on here. A lot of people contribute to any sort of award like this. So this award, with Coach Auerbach here, belongs to a lot of people is the bottom line. I'm honored and very thankful."

The Spurs finished with a league-best 62-20 (.756) record, which provided them with homecourt advantage throughout the postseason and gave the franchise 15 consecutive seasons with at least 50 victories under Popovich.

San Antonio lost in the 2013 NBA Finals to the Miami Heat, who rallied from a 3-2 series deficit with a furious last-minute comeback in game six and won game seven in Miami.

Popovich, who wins his second NBA Coach of the Year award in the past three seasons and third of his career, joins Don Nelson and Pat Riley as the only coaches to receive the honor three times.

Phoenix Suns' fist-year coach Jeff Hornacek finished second in the voting with 339 total points, including 37 first-place votes. Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was third.

Popovich totaled 380 points, including 59 first-place votes, from a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. For the first time in league history, full results of the balloting from individual voters will be posted on NBA.com.

The Spurs were the only team to record 30-plus wins both at home (32-9, .780) and on the road (30-11, .732), and their 38-14 record against conference opponents tied for the best mark in the league (Indiana Pacers). San Antonio led the NBA in points per game differential at plus-7.8, having averaged 105.4 ppg while giving up just 97.6 ppg.

San Antonio recorded a 19-game winning streak - tied for fifth-longest in NBA history - between February 26-April 2 and Popovich won 60 games in a season for the fourth time in his career.

Popovich ended the 2013-14 campaign with 967 regular season wins, good for ninth on the all-time list. It wasn't a path he ever envisioned as a self-described "fat, dumb and happy Division III coach."

"The NBA was never a thought. To me, the NBA was watching it on TV, back when they had the long nets and watching the ball go through the long nets. I really enjoyed that," Popovich said.

The Coach of the Year Award is named after legendary coach and Hall of Famer Red Auerbach who guided the Celtics to nine NBA Championships. In 1996, Auerbach was honored as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History as the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary. - Reuters