Mitchell Named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month

Sam Mitchell coached the team to a 10-5 record in January. (NBAE/Getty Images)

(February 1, 2007) -- The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday that head coach Sam Mitchell was named NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for the month of January. This is the first time Mitchell has won the honour. Mitchell joins Lenny Wilkens as the only Raptors coaches to be named Coach of the Month. Wilkens won in April 2002, after the team went 7-2 for the month.

Toronto compiled a conference best-tying 10-5 mark in January play, including records of 7-3 at home and 8-2 versus Eastern Conference opponents. This is Toronto’s first 10 win month since January 2002 (11-5) and the fifth double-digit win month in franchise history. The Raptors currently lead the Atlantic division by one game with a 23-23 record.

The Raptors defeated Eastern Conference leading Washington twice during the month, most recently on Wednesday by a 119-109 score. In addition to the 10 wins, the Raptors also lost close games to Phoenix (two points) and Dallas (one point), the teams with the top-two records in the NBA. During the month the Raptors averaged 98.6 points for and 94.0 against. Prior to January, the team was averaging 97.3 points for and 100.3 points against.

Mitchell joined the Raptors as head coach on June 29, 2004 after serving two years as an assistant in Milwaukee. Prior to his coaching career, Mitchell spent 13 seasons in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Indiana Pacers. He ranks second all-time in Timberwolves history in games played with 757, 7,161 points and 3,030 rebounds.