Phoenix Suns' Monty Williams wins NBA Coach of the Year award

Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams has been named NBA head coach of the year.

Williams led the Suns to the NBA's best record this season at 64-18. He finished second to New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau in last year's voting.

He received 81 of 100 first-place votes this year 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, in his third season as Suns head coach, has won the NBCA Coach of the Year award the last two seasons. That honor is awarded by the National Basketball Coaches Association.

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Williams joins Cotton Fitzsimmons (1988-89) and Mike D’Antoni (2004-05) as coaches who have won the award with the Suns.

The top-seeded Suns play Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday against the fourth-seeded Dallas Mavericks at Footprint Center with the series tied 2-2.

Contributing: Associated Press.

Have an opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Suns' Monty Williams named NBA Coach of the Year