Odds and Prediction for NBA Coach of the Year 2023-24

The NBA Coach of the Year 2024 betting odds shows how tough picking a winner will be for next season. Multiple coaches have a shot at the award, and the narrative around each of them couldn’t be more different.

Will Mark Daigneault win Coach of the Year in 2024 after he led Oklahoma City to its first 40-win season in three years? Will Erik Spoelstra finally win the award in his 16th season as an NBA head coach? I want to share my analysis along with my final NBA Coach of the Year prediction, so let’s start with the odds.

• Mark Daigneault; +700
• Erik Spoelstra; +800
• Michael Malone; +900
• Joe Mazzulla; +900
• Nick Nurse; +1000

The main favorite in the latest Coach of the Year NBA odds for 2023-24 is Mark Daigneault, but it’s tight. He now enters his fourth season at the helm of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Trailing him is Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, who’s won two NBA titles in his career.

Michael Malone and Joe Mazzulla are also in the mix to win Coach of the Year in 2023-24. You can find the odds above at BetUS, which covers the NBA extensively. You can bet on player specials, props, futures, and much more.

I want to start by focusing on the main contenders in the NBA Coach of the Year race. The top coaches that you need to consider targeting are Spoelstra, Daigneault, Mazzulla, and Malone.

The NBA Coach of the Year award has been around since the 1962-63 season. The winners are often coaches of teams that exceed expectations and show significant improvement. However, the criteria for the award can also be pretty broad in scope.

Let’s check the narrative around the most likely winners.

• Age: 38
• Team: Oklahoma City Thunder
• 2022-23 Record: 40-42

All the best NBA betting sites favor Oklahoma City head coach Mark Daigneault. After two seasons in which the team won 24 games or fewer, he elevated the Thunder to 40 wins in 2022-23. The team looked sharp, especially with the emergence of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Oklahoma City had success last season because the offense was well above average. The team scored 117.5 points per game, which ranked fifth in the entire NBA. Gilgeous-Alexander also had a breakout season with 31.4 points, 5.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.

Daigneault led Oklahoma City to 40 wins in last year’s regular season, which got the team into the play-ins. The Thunder defeated the Pelicans in the first game but lost to the Timberwolves and missed the playoffs. Now, the goal is to continue progressing and become a true contender.

Oklahoma City has several players who gained valuable experience last season. Youngsters like Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams have made huge leaps in their development. Also, the Thunder will have Chet Holmgren healthy for the season in 2023-24.

You should also know that Oklahoma City acquired a few key players during the offseason. Among the new additions are Victor Oladipo and Davis Bertans. The new mixture of NBA veterans and talented young players should also give Oklahoma City an edge.

The Tunder should take another leap, which might be enough for Daigneault to win the prize.

• Age: 52
• Team: Miami Heat
• 2022-23 Record: 44-38

Erik Spoelstra’s coaching efforts during the NBA postseason in 2022-23 deserve a lot of praise. He got his team into the NBA Finals as an eighth seed in the playoffs. That is an impressive accomplishment in itself.

Why hasn’t Spoelstra won NBA Coach of the Year previously? Many people contend that he inherited a good situation when he took the job in Miami back in 2008. However, Spoelstra continues to prove that he’s an elite head coach every year.

There’s also a lot to like about Miami’s roster. The team features playmakers and difference-makers at almost every position. This includes Jimmy Butler, a six-time NBA All-Star, and Bam Adebayo, one of the best defenders in the NBA.

Does Spoelstra have a realistic chance at claiming NBA Coach of the Year? He’s been snubbed a few times, so if there’s anyone who deserves the award, it’s him. Ultimately, Miami’s resilience in 2023-24 will determine if Spoelstra wins.

• Age: 52
• Team: Denver Nuggets
• 2022-23 Record: 53-29

You also shouldn’t overlook Michael Malone, another excellent head coach. He recently led the Nuggets to an NBA Championship in 2022-23. Denver also dominated during the payoffs — the team went 16-4 and swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.

The expectations are now higher than ever for Denver. The franchise captured its first NBA title last season, and now they have to defend it. An NBA team hasn’t won championships in back-to-back seasons since Golden State did it in 2017 and 2018.

Will Malone claim his first NBA Coach of the Year award in 2024? Honestly, I think Denver has to win at least 60 games for him to be in the running. The Nuggets have enough playmakers to make it happen, but the Western Conference is also super competitive.

• Age: 35
• Team: Boston Celtics
• 2022-23 Record: 57-25

Joe Mazzulla deserves a lot of credit for his efforts in 2022-23. The Celtics suspended head coach Ime Udoka for conduct violations before the season began. Mazzulla then had to step in and maximize the opportunity, which is exactly what he did.

The Celtics made it back to the Eastern Conference Final during Mazzulla’s first season at the helm. This wasn’t entirely surprising because Boston has one of the best all-around rosters in the NBA. The team is led by Jayson Tatum, who averaged 30.1 points per game in 2022-23.

Mazzulla now has another chance to implement his vision for Boston. However, he also has to prove that his success from last season wasn’t because he inherited a good team. Expectations are sky-high, but Boston is also in a great position to succeed.

To claim Coach of the Year, Mazzulla has to win at least 65 games. Boston also has to finish on top of the regular season standings in the Eastern Conference. It won’t be easy, but Mazzulla can pull it off if he makes the most of a super talented roster.

I also want to discuss a few sleepers in the race for NBA Coach of the Year. You never know which team will overperform and deliver solid results, so you should consider all possibilities.

Last year’s winner of Coach of the Year was Mike Brown. His efforts were crucial to getting Sacramento into the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. It ended one of the longest active postseason droughts among major sports franchises in North America. If another coach can take an underperforming team and deliver results like Brown did, he might snatch the award.

The following guys have the potential to do it.

• Ime Udoka (+4500). Udoka will try to jump-start his coaching career again, but this time, it’ll be with the Houston Rockets. In his lone season with the Celtics, Udoka led the team to an NBA Finals appearance.
• Monty Williams (+3000). Williams just took over as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons. He previously coached the Suns to an NBA Finals appearance and multiple seasons with 50+ wins.
• Quin Snyder (+2000). Not enough people are talking about Snyder, who just took over the head coaching job in Atlanta. The Hawks have an underrated roster, and if he can coach the team to 50 wins, he’ll be a top candidate for the award.

I truly believe that Mark Daigneault is the best option out of all the other candidates. I’m picking him with my NBA Coach of the Year 2023-24 prediction because he’s simply in the best position to win it. Oklahoma City is an under-the-radar team that could contend for a conference title.

Erik Spoelstra is an amazing head coach who deserves this award. However, I don’t think he’ll claim it, especially since he fell short of winning Coach of the Year several times in the past. Miami would have to dominate the Eastern Conference for Spoelstra to be a frontrunner.

I also think that both Mazzulla and Malone don’t stand a chance. Winners of this award tend to be coaches who take bad to average teams and turn them into contenders. This is the main reason why Daigneault is such a solid option.