The Professional Basketball Writers Association (PBWA) announced today that L.A. Clippers Head Coach Doc Rivers has won the 2018-19 Rudy Tomjanovich Award, which honors an NBA coach for his cooperation with the media and fans, as well as his excellence on the court.
In his sixth season with the Clippers, Rivers, who previously won the Rudy Tomjanovich Award in 2011-12 as the Head Coach of the Boston Celtics, led the Clippers to a 48-34 record and earned the eighth seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. L.A. became the fifth team in NBA history to win at least 45 games without an All-Star. Rivers, the winningest head coach in franchise history, was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for October and November during the 2018-19 season and is a finalist for the NBA Coach of the Year.
Members of the PBWA, which include more than 200 NBA writers and editors, selected Rivers from five finalists including: Kenny Atkinson of the Brooklyn Nets, Mike D’Antoni of the Houston Rockets, Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets and Nate McMillan of the Indiana Pacers.
The Rudy Tomjanovich Award is named after the former Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers head coach who exemplified professionalism and respect to members of the media. During his 13 seasons as an NBA head coach, Tomjanovich compiled a 527-416 regular-season record, a 51-39 postseason record and won back-to-back NBA titles with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995.
Rudy Tomjanovich Award Winners
2010-11 Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz
2011-12 Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics
2012-13 George Karl, Denver Nuggets
2013-14 Frank Vogel, Indiana Pacers
2014-15 Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
2015-16 Dwane Casey, Toronto Raptors
2016-17 Stan Van Gundy, Detroit Pistons
2017-18 Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors
2018-19 Doc Rivers, LA Clippers