Atkinson, Bickerstaff And Udoka Are The Finalists For Nba Coach Of The Year

Kenny Atkinson got Cleveland off to a 15-0 start to the season and led the Cavaliers to the best record in the Eastern Conference. J.B. Bickerstaff pulled Detroit from the basement to the playoffs. Ime Udoka guided Houston's path to ending its five-year playoff drought.

All three did elite jobs this season.

And Monday, one of them will be the NBA's coach of the year.

None of the three have won the award previously, but al have been legitimate candidates before. Bickerstaff has gotten votes now in each of the last four seasons, Udoka has gotten votes in all three of his seasons as a head coach and Atkinson finished fifth in the voting for the 2018-19 season.

No matter the order of finish - which will be revealed on a TNT broadcast shortly after 6:30 p.m. Eastern - it will be the best finishes ever in the voting for all three coaches. They'll be 1-2-3 in some order the NBA releases the three finalists ahead of time but does not disclose the winner of its major awards ahead of the broadcast announcement.