Uncover the Surprising NBA Award Favorites That Data Experts Didn’t See Coming This Season
Other Contenders
Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons; Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta Hawks; Keyonte George, Utah Jazz
NBA Coach of the Year
Methodology: Historically, this award goes to the coach who helped his team improve the most from one season to the next. To measure the candidates, we’re comparing each team’s TRACR (our one-number team-based metric) from last season to this season to see which teams have the greatest rise.
1. Charles Lee, Charlotte Hornets (21 Spot Increase)
The Hornets may be the most heartwarming story of the 2025-26 season, and Lee deserves praise for this. A season ago, they had the second-worst TRACR in the league. This season, they’re sixth, with our projection model giving them a 79.5% chance of making the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, and a 39.4% chance of winning a series for the first time since 2002.

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