NEW YORK, May 7 -- After leading the Chicago Bulls to a record 72 wins, Phil Jackson Tuesday was named the National Basketball Association Coach of the Year. Jackson received 82 of a possible 113 votes from a nationwide panel of writers and broadcasters.
Mike Fratello of the Cleveland Cavaliers finished second with 22 votes. Jackson guided the Bulls to the best record in NBA history at 72-10 this season. The Bulls are the only team to reach the 70-win plateau. The 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers held the single-season record with 69 wins (69-13). Despite coaching the Bulls to three straight NBA titles from 1991 to 1993, Jackson had never won Coach of the Year honors. 'This is a dream year and we've had a wonderful ride up to this point,' said Jackson. 'I receive this as a member of the Bulls organization with gratitude and thanks to the players. 'The coach is always the jockey and the players drag him down the racetrack. Coaching is really a partnership between the players and the coaching staff. This year wasn't as much work as I've had to do in other years, but certainly some of the off-the-court work was as difficult as on the court.' Doug Collins of the Detroit Pistons and Bob Hill of the San Antonio Spurs tied for third with three votes apiece. Rudy Tomjanovich of the Houston Rockets received two votes and Lenny Wilkens of the Atlanta Hawks had one vote. The Bulls also set NBA records for most consecutive home wins (44) and most consecutive home wins to start a season (37) in 1995-96. The Coach of the Year receives the Red Auerbach Trophy in honor of Auerbach, the president of the Boston Celtics, who guided the Celtics to nine NBA championships between the 1956-57 and 1966-67 seasons.
