NEW YORK – Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey was honoured by his peers Wednesday, 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 Casey 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.
VIDEO: Everybody on the team was hurt by how the season ended
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, and focused on developing the bench.
The Raptors’ bench 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.
VIDEO: Casey says young Raptors lacked the ‘mental toughness’ to hang with the Cavaliers