NEW YORK – Dwane Casey has been named one of three finalists for the NBA’s coach of the year award.
Too bad the nomination came five days after he was fired by the Toronto Raptors. Casey was named a finalist for the award on Wednesday night along with Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens.
The 61-year-old Casey was the most successful coach in Raptors history, rewriting the culture of what had been one of the worst teams in the league.
He led Toronto to four Atlantic Division titles in five seasons, and three consecutive 50-win seasons, and the Raptors rewrote the franchise record book in this past regular-season, winning 59 games and earning the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time.
Casey was fired after the Cleveland Cavaliers swept Toronto out of the Eastern Conference semifinal for the second straight year.
After Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri fired Casey on Friday, he addressed media while fighting tears.