NBA NEWS - NEW ORLEANS’ BYRON SCOTT NAMED 2007-08 NBA COACH OF THE YEAR - May 2008

BYRON SCOTT NBA Coach of the Year - As a player Scott was an Integral Laker - Maxi Basket photo

Scott Wins Red Auerbach Trophy After Leading New Orleans to Franchise-Best 56-Win Season. Scott, the first coach in Hornets history to receive the honor

NEW YORK,, NY USA - Thursday May 1, 2008

Byron Scott Is the Man Named - NBA's Best Coach

New Orleans Hornets coach Byron Scott is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2007-08 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced. In his fourth season as the Hornets’ head coach, Scott received 458 points, including 70 first-place votes, from a panel of 125 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. Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers was second with 242 points (23 first-place votes) and the Houston Rockets’ Rick Adelman was third with 193 points (17 first-place votes).

Scott, the first coach in Hornets history to receive the honor, led the franchise to its first Southwest Division title and a franchise-best 56-win season. Scott guided the team to a 56-26 (.683) record, an 18-game improvement over last season (38-43, .463) and the second-best record in the highly competitive Western Conference. The Hornets also broke a franchise record with 26 road wins, finishing at 26-15 on the road and winning 17 of their final 26 road games. The Hornets were 15-26 away from home a year ago.

Scott was named NBA Coach of the Month for January, after leading the Hornets to a league-best 12-2 record. At the All-Star break, the Hornets owned the highest winning percentage in the West, earning Scott the spot as head coach for the Western Conference All-Stars in New Orleans, his second appearance as an All-Star head coach (2002).

A candidate for the 2005-06 Coach of the Year award after leading the Hornets to an NBA-best 20-game turnaround, Scott and the Hornets did not lose more than three games in a row this season. The team’s longest winning streak of nine games was up from just four straight wins last season. New Orleans was 0-11 versus the top three Western Conference teams (Dallas, Phoenix, and San Antonio) a year ago; this year, Scott coached the Hornets to an 8-4 record against those teams with two wins each over Dallas and San Antonio, and four wins over Phoenix.

Scott joined the Hornets after three-and-a-half seasons with the New Jersey Nets, during which he compiled a 149-139 record and took the Nets from the bottom of the Eastern Conference (only three teams were worse the season before he arrived) to two consecutive appearances at The Finals (2001-02, 2002-03). In his first season with the Nets (2000-01), Scott posted a 26-56 mark only to coach the team to a 26-game turnaround (sixth-best improvement in NBA history) in 2001-02 and the franchise’s first-ever Atlantic Division Title.

Balloting results for the 2007-08 NBA Coach of the Year Award

Coach........................ Team........................ 1st....... 2nd....... 3rd........ Pts

Byron Scott................ New Orleans............. 70 ........34 ...........6 .......458

Doc Rivers .................Boston .......................23 ........36 .........19 .......242

Rick Adelman ............Houston ......................17 ........23 .........39 .......193

Maurice Cheeks .........Philadelphia ..................5 ........12 ..........20 ........81

Phil Jackson ...............L.A. Lakers ..................4 ..........9 ............9 ........56

Jerry Sloan .................Utah ............................ 6 ......... 4 ............7 ........49

Eddie Jordan ..............Washington ...................-- .........5 .......... 12.......27

Stan Van Gundy ..........Orlando ...................... -- ..........2 ............8...... 14

(NBA)