- Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault (+700) is favored to win 2023-24 NBA Coach of the Year
- Jamahl Mosley (+1600), Taylor Jenkins (+1600) and Ime Udoka (+3300) stand out as strong longshots to capture the award
- The 2023-24 NBA Regular Season begins on Tuesday, Oct. 24th
With just over a week until the start of the season, let’s look at the odds for 2023-24 NBA Coach of the Year. Past winners of this award have all had teams that improved on their previous year’s record and outperformed expectations. Could that make the current favorite, Mark Daigneault, a bad bet?
Before we examine the COY contenders, be sure to check out the 2023-24 NBA MVP Betting Odds and our guide to betting on NBA basketball.
2023-24 NBA Coach of the Year Award
Daigneault a worthy favorite?
Mike Brown captured Coach of the Year last year after guiding Sacramento to an 18-win improvement. Prior to Brown, the past 12 winners of the award boosted their previous season’s record by an average of 10.8 wins. These award winners also exceeded their over/under win totals by an average of 12+ victories. This doesn’t bode well for current favorite Mark Daigneault (+700).
While his ascending Thunder roster is loaded with rising stars such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey and Chet Holmgren, all that talent creates expectations. Oklahoma City won 40 games in 2022-23 and their win total is set at 44.5 heading into this season. That means OKC will need to win a minimum of 50 games for Daigneault to cash your ticket.
ESPN ranked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander above LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, Damian Lillard, and Jimmy Butler
Fair? 👀 pic.twitter.com/06h7VmXJlQ
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 12, 2023
Next tier of contenders
Adrian Griffin (+800) is taking over for Mike Budenholzer behind the bench in Milwaukee. Given the Bucks finished with the best record in the NBA last season (58-24) and have the second-highest expected win total (54.5) in the league, the former Raptors assistant coach has virtually no shot at winning the award.
Erik Spoelstra (+900) has never won a Coach of the Year award despite being known as the sport’s best coach. That won’t change anytime soon as expectations for the Miami Heat are always high with Spoelstra in charge. Joe Mazzulla (+1000) of the Celtics and Denver’s Michael Malone (+1000) are similarly terrible wagers.
Strong longshots
Jamahl Mosley (+1600) fits the profile of a COY winner. Much like the Thunder, the Magic have exciting young pieces in Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick of the 2022 NBA draft, and Franz Wagner, who is our pick for the 2023 Most Improved Player of the Year award. And unlike OKC, expectations in Orlando are low as the franchise has the NBA’s worst win-loss percentage (.350) over the past decade.
Ime Udoka (+3300) is already considered one of the best coaches in the league and his Rockets have a 31.5-win total heading into the year after only winning 22 games in 2022-23. With Jalen Green and Alperen Şengün poised to break out, could Houston win 40 games and sneak into a Play-In-Game as a No. 10 seed? If so, Udoka would likely claim this award.
If you thought Ja Morant’s absence meant this would be the year Memphis comes crashing down to earth, think again… 🐻😤 https://t.co/3ADhzyAF4H pic.twitter.com/UyA2z9D8Ig
— theScore (@theScore) October 15, 2023
Best Bet
Taylor Jenkins (+1600) has a ready-built narrative to win Coach of the Year with Ja Morant suspended for the first 25 games of the season. Memphis is 37-24 all-time without their superstar guard. If they can maintain that pace minus Morant and climb over 55+ wins once he returns, Jenkins will be a frontrunner.
See below the top sportsbooks where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
