Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey was honoured by his peers today, just two days after his team was swept out of the NBA playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Casey, whose job security is being questioned after the top-seeded Raptors' early exit from the post-season, is the 2018 recipient of the Michael H. Goldberg Coach of the Year Award, which is handed out by the NBA Coaches Association — the honour is separate from the league's coach of the year award.
The 61-year-old led the Raptors to a franchise-record 59 wins in the regular season, including 34 at home — that secured Toronto its fifth Atlantic Division title and the top seed in the Eastern Conference throughout the playoffs.
Their historic season came after president Masai Ujiri called for a "culture reset" last off-season.
The Raptors revamped their offence around improved three-point shooting and better ball movement as well as focusing on developing the bench, which became the envy of the league.
Toronto was the only team in the playoffs that finished in the top five in both offence and defence.
Meanwhile, Raptors president Masai Ujiri says he's evaluating everything after another disappointing playoff exit.
Ujiri met with reporters 48 hours after the Raptors were swept out of the playoffs by Cleveland.
He said Dwane Casey did a good job behind the Raptors bench, but didn't guarantee that the coach will return next season.
In NBA playoff action, the Boston Celtics can eliminate Philadelphia from the second round with a home victory tonight.
— with files from The Canadian Press