NBA Coach of the Year 2022/23 Odds – Rookie Boston coach Joe Mazzulla heads betting

Mazzulla joined the Boston Celtics as an assistant coach in 2019, but found himself thrust into the interim head coach roll last September after Ime Udoka was suspended by the team for ‘violating team policies’ with his behaviour away from the court.

Udoka’s suspension, which came just months after Boston lost in the NBA Finals, could have been a huge distraction for the team, but once the 2022/23 season got underway it was clear that Mazzulla had his players focused.

Boston raced out of the blocks by winning 13 of their first 16 games of the campaign, and despite a few dips here and there, which are expected in an 82-game regular season, the Celtics have been stacking up wins to remain a frontrunner in the Eastern Conference.

This has earned Mazzulla the head coach job on a permanent basis, and it has also put the 34-year-old at the head of the betting for NBA Coach of the Year at +175.

The Boston Celtics coach is far from a sure-fire thing for the award though, with two other men hot on his heels at this time.

Mike Brown is +225 with the bookmakers at this time, having put Sacramento firmly in contention for a playoff place in the Western Conference.

The Kings have not made the postseason since losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs in 2006, but former Cleveland and Los Angeles Lakers coach Brown is on the brink of helping them end that drought in his first season in charge.

He is slightly ahead of +300 Michael Malone, who has the Denver Nuggets charging towards the postseason once again.

The Nuggets currently hold a commanding lead at the top of the Western Conference and if they can stay there they will have home court advantage throughout the playoffs, which would be massive for Malone’s team.

Only one other coach is in double digits at this time, with the Memphis Grizzlies’ Taylor Jenkins next up at +800 ahead of the +1300 duo of Brooklyn Nets coach Jacque Vaughan and Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers.

+175 Joe Mazzulla

+225 Mike Brown

+300  Michael Malone

+800 Taylor Jenkins

+1300 Jacque Vaughn

+1300 Doc Rivers

+1500 JB Bickerstaff

+2500 Mike Daigneault

+2500 Mike Budenholzer

+2500 Will Hardy