Scott Brooks named NBA Coach of the Year.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK-- While the best thing to cap off the amazing season that the Oklahoma City Thunder have had this season would be the 2010 NBA title, the next best thing would recogntion for the man responsible for engineering the team's transformation from a 20-win last place team into a 50-win playoff contender.  The NBA's writers and media did that by naming Thunder coach Scott Brooks as this years Red Auerbach award as NBA Coach of the Year.

Brooks beat out Milwaukee's Scott Skiles for the award, in which he captured 480 points and 71 first place votes.  Coach Brooks assumed the helm of the Thunder, succeeding former coach P.J. Carlesimo in  April 2009 and is in his first full season as the Thunder's head coach.   Coach Brooks guided the Thunder to a 50-32 (.610) season and the organization's first playoff berth since 2005. Brooks coached the Thunder -- the NBA's youngest team -- to an NBA-best 27-game turnaround following a 23-59 (.280) record in 2008-09.  Scott Brooks joins the likes of the man who is coaching against him in the Thunder's current playoff series, Phil Jackson of the Los Angeles Lakers and Pat Riley, who coached the Lakers, Knicks and Miami as a recipient of the Aurebach Award.

Scott Brooks and the Oklahoma City Thunder are currently trailing the defending NBA Chamions Los Angeles Lakers teo games to none in the opening round of the 2010 NBA Playoffs.  The next game will be the first ever NBA playoff game ever to be played in the state of Oklahoma as the Thunder host the Lakers in OKC's Ford Center on Thursday.  Tipoff is set for 8:30pm and the game can be seen in Tulsa on TNT (cable-29), and Fox Sports Oklahoma (cable-27).

Photo by Kevin Pyle.