After guiding the team to an 11-3 record last month, Phoenix Suns Head Coach Monty Williams has been named the Western Conference Coach of the Month for March 2021, the NBA announced today.
The Suns tied for the West’s best record in March with an 11-3 mark and they enter April on a four-game winning streak. For the season, the Suns have the NBA’s second-best record at 33-14 and are 25-6 over their last 31 games. One of just three teams in the NBA to rank in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating, this is the first season the Suns rank in the top 10 in both categories since 1997-98. The Suns were 5-1 away from home during March and currently hold the NBA’s best overall record in road games at 16-6.
This is Williams’ second time winning Western Conference Coach of the Month as he also won for January 2011 while coaching the New Orleans Hornets, whose roster included current Suns point guard Chris Paul and assistant coach Willie Green. Williams is the first Suns coach to win the monthly honor since December 2013 and the seventh Suns coach overall. He joins three-time winner Cotton Fitzsimmons (April 1989, February 1990, December 1991); Paul Westphal (December 1992); Frank Johnson (December 2002); four-time winner Mike D’Antoni (December 2004, February 2006, December 2006, January 2007); two-time winner Alvin Gentry (November 2009, March 2010); and Jeff Hornacek (December 2013) as Suns coaches to win the honor.
Williams won in the West while the Atlanta Hawks’ Nate McMillan was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for March. Williams’ first job as an NBA assistant coach was on McMillan’s staff in Portland from 2005-2010.
The Suns host the Oklahoma City Thunder at Phoenix Suns Arena tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. PT. The game will be televised on Bally Sports Arizona and air on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station and in Spanish on KSUN-La Mejor Radio. Limited tickets are available at Suns.com/tickets.