Updated 2019 NBA Coach of the Year Odds Entering Final Few Days of Season

• Mike Budenholzer is the overwhelming favorite to win NBA Coach of the Year honors
• Steve Clifford and Doc Rivers’ teams have surprised this season
• Is it worth betting on anyone other than Coach Bud?

There are worthy candidates to take home the NBA Coach of the Year Award, but there’s one clear frontrunner.

Already pegged as the overwhelming favorite a month ago, Milwaukee Bucks bench boss Mike Budenholzer’s latest odds have hit the nitrous button, leaving the rest of the coaching pack far in the rearview mirror.

Can any other coach knock him off the perch? Let’s explore.

2019 NBA Coach of the Year Odds

*Odds taken 04/08/19

Clippers, Magic Did More with Far Less

It’s the age-old argument when discussing this award: do you go with the guy who overachieved with a less than a stellar roster? Or is this award reserved for the coach who put together the best team with the most wins?

https://twitter.com/Scott_Charlton/status/1112091703274598404

If you’re leaning towards the former, not only did Doc Rivers not have one All-Star player on his roster, the team traded Tobias Harris – at the time their leading scorer and rebounder – at the trade deadline.

How did the @LAClippers go from trading their best player to being in thick of the Western Conference playoff picture?

Doc Rivers explained pic.twitter.com/efEFRY4sul

— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) April 2, 2019

Instead of folding, Rivers flourished with a performance reminiscent of his Coach of the Year campaign with the Magic in 1999. A team of role players paired nicely with developing cornerstone point guard Shai-Gilgeous Alexander and Jerome Robinson while adding more young assets in Ivaca Zubac and Landry Shamet in separate deadline deals.

https://twitter.com/NBAEnLinea_/status/1114388971155611648

And Lou Williams has become a low-key premier shotmaker in the league. This team in transition is actually fun to watch, and should be a free agent player this summer.

Shoot ultra clutch de Terence Ross ! pic.twitter.com/k5cKeKBcsB

— Rod_NBA (@Buzzer_BeaterFR) November 15, 2018

Steve Clifford, meanwhile, has an All-Star in Nicola Vucevic, but he did what no other Magic coach in previous years has been able to do: take a roster of misfits and get them to punch up a class to succeed.

He coaxed a career-year out of wing Terence Ross, who averaged 14.9 points on 38% from deep, and resurrected Michael Carter-Williams’ basketball soul, which was floating aimlessly since his 2013 ROTY campaign.

Michael Carter-Williams has been so good for Orlando. If they can get Markelle Fultz going, it's time to wonder if Steve Clifford and staff are PG whisperers, because they also got Jeremy Lin's career back on track as well as developed Kemba Walker into a star player.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) April 8, 2019

And while Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier saw their scoring averages dip, Gordon had his best shooting percentage since his rookie year (44.7%) while Fournier played 80 games for just the second time in his career.

I've learned something new at every shootaround and media scrum this season with Steve Clifford. He's a great teacher, leader, and historian of the game.

He's the best signing, coach or player, that any team made this past off-season. Don't @ me.#PureMagic #BlueandWhiteIgnite pic.twitter.com/G7cWRhI5Va

— Cody Clark (@CommsClark) April 8, 2019

While they should serve as filler for the East’s big dogs, at least Magic fans can see a path to respectability.

Budenholzer Crushed Expectations in Milwaukee

The cases of Rivers, Clifford and everyone else falls short though, in my opinion, because Budenholzer did the exact same thing, but better and with higher stakes. His greatest feat was unlocking Giannis Antetokounmpo and turning him into what Shaq 2.0 would be sculpted as in this generation.

“He knows his s**t”

– Giannis on Coach Budenholzer pic.twitter.com/LCXpAKhKLD

— IKE Bucks Podcast (@IKE_Bucks) April 6, 2019

Antetokounmpo is having an MVP-caliber season with virtually the same lineup as a year ago (save Brook Lopez in and Jabari Parker out), and his team owns the best record in basketball. It’s no fluke either.  Milwaukee enters the playoffs as the second-highest scoring team in the league, first in rebounding, and second in defensive rating. 

https://twitter.com/AndyGlockner/status/1114019706426363904

To turn the franchise around from middle-of-the-pack to legit title contender, Budenholzer is a lock. He’ll be collecting his second trophy in five years with two different teams. There’s no other way to bet this one.

Pick: Mike Budenholzer (-2000)