2025-26 NBA COTY Odds – Mosley, Snyder Favorites for Red Auerbach Trophy

Mosley heads into his fifth season as coach of the Magic, but there are high expectations of a team that has won two Southeast Division titles in a row.

Clearing the bottom of the floor + getting a back screen set for one of the power wings has been a simple, yet effective SLOB staple for ORL under Jamahl Mosley.

Easy money for Franz here. pic.twitter.com/gSykEwglzh

— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) October 23, 2025

The Magic traded for Desmond Bane, which should open up the floor for Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. The Orlando offense has been awful recently, and it has led to two straight first-round exits.

If Bane plays to his ability and creates that spacing for his teammates, the sky is the limit for Mosley and the Magic, who are already one of the best defensive teams in the league.

The East is up for grabs, and Orlando made a win-now move. They finished seventh in the East last season. If they can finish top three or better, Mosley has a great shot in these NBA Coach of the Year odds!

Snyder has been hailed as one of the NBA’s best coaches for a while now, but it hasn’t been great in Atlanta. In Snyder’s three seasons there, the Hawks have gone out in the first round, and missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.

“You can always control how hard you compete.”

– Quin Snyder pic.twitter.com/Rrwm12ielE

— Coach Mac 🏀 (@BballCoachMac) August 17, 2025

However, these NBA COY odds are based on the expectations for the Hawks, who were hit by injuries last season. Jalen Johnson was fantastic until he got hurt last season, while Dyson Daniels was one of the best defensive players in the league.

In the summer, Atlanta picked up Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Trae Young and last year’s #1 pick, Zaccharie Risacher, are back as well.

Like many in the East, the Hawks are in “why not us” mode. Snyder doesn’t really have anywhere to go but up in Atlanta, and like Orlando, a top-three finish could get him in many NBA COTY picks!

Udoka’s Rockets missed the playoffs in his first season, and were eliminated in the first round the next season. Now, NBA championship odds have Houston as one of the top teams. There are massive expectations in H-Town this season!

Ime Udoka on teams that are starting to copy their double-big lineup 👀

“Everybody’s trying to be like us. They can’t really do it like us, but take a little pride I guess.” pic.twitter.com/5PWUrMO22B

— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) October 19, 2025

Kevin Durant is now with the Rockets, and signed an extension. Amen Thompson is being tipped as one of the players this season to take a big leap. Alperen Sengun is already showing signs that his “Baby Jokic” nickname is valid. But the Rockets suffered a considerable loss with Fred VanVleet’s knee injury.

If Udoka can manage without VanVleet, or get Reed Sheppard to turn into a proper NBA player, the Rockets should challenge Oklahoma City and Denver in the Western Conference. That happens, and Udoka will get consideration by NBA Coach of the Year bettors.

Mike Brown won Coach of the Year in 2009 with Cleveland, and then again in 2023 with Sacramento. Now, he is in New York, replacing Tom Thibodeau on a Knicks’ team that has genuine title aspirations.

– 11 man rotation
– only one starter over 35 mins
– ran double bigs
– 40 three point attempts
– trusted in Kolek
– out-rebounded CLE by 16
– Beat a 65 win team

What a Knicks Debut for Mike Brown🔥 pic.twitter.com/9bXFOfDyff

— SITE (@SiteNYK) October 23, 2025

It seems like Brown’s biggest mandate, unlike his predecessor, is to use his bench. In each of the past two playoff runs, the Knicks’ starters, especially Jalen Brunson, looked tired by the end of the season after 35-plus minutes a game.

Brown has won four NBA titles as an assistant coach, but never as a head coach. If the Knicks win the East, and with the visibility of being in New York, Brown offers tremendous value as an NBA COTY betting prospect, as do the Knicks’ NBA championship odds!

The Celtics are supposed to be in a down year with Jayson Tatum out with an Achilles tear. But don’t tell Mazzulla that. The famously-competitive Boston head coach doesn’t know how to turn off his aggression switch.

This game is traditionally media vs media. But this year Joe Mazzulla made the media face coaches presumably to embarrass them.

Diabolical. https://t.co/jsFt4vjiji

— John Zannis (@John_Zannis) October 14, 2025

Boston did get rid of some important pieces, such as Porzingis, Al Horford, and Jrue Holiday. However, all of those players were aging, so Mazzulla will be happy to see what he has with some of his younger players. Jaylen Brown, a former Finals MVP, and Derrick White, are also still in the mix.

Mazzulla doesn’t know how to not coach hard every single night, and he’s likely going to get the Celtics to shoot even more three-pointers than they have recently. Tatum is also allegedly going to be back at some point this season, somehow. But if he is and the Celtics snag a top-three seed, Mazzulla will earn some 2025-26 NBA COY betting consideration!

Finch has taken Minnesota to two consecutive Western Conference finals, and now they’re looking to get over the hump in this brutal conference. After a 16-win first season in 2020-21, Finch has had four seasons between 42 and 56 wins with the Timberwolves.

Suddenly, Chris Finch is one of the longest-tenured coaches in the NBA.

How a meeting with his staff before camp was designed to set a tone of gratitude as the Wolves enter a season with grand aspirations.

Story below 👇 pic.twitter.com/2yel6F8i0c

— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) October 22, 2025

The Timberwolves only really lost Nickeil Alexander-Walker, while re-signing Naz Reid and Julius Randle. Anthony Edwards is one of the 10-12 best players in the league and is still getting better. Rudy Gobert seems to have figured out his role in Minnesota, but the bench needs to do their part.

The Timberwolves could finish top three in the West after finishing sixth last season. If Minnesota were to actually improve by two or three positions compared to last year, Finch would definitely get some NBA Coach of the Year betting looks.

Dallas has rebuilt their team on the fly after the massive Luka Dončić trade last season, and it didn’t hurt that they got the #1 pick in the draft, picking Cooper Flagg. His skill set is perfect for Kidd, who was one of the best point guards the NBA has ever seen.

Mavericks HC Jason Kidd says that Cooper Flagg did a really good job at the PG position in his debut and is comfortable moving forward with Flagg at the point guard position #MFFL pic.twitter.com/8eAWyz99cE

— Kevin Gray Jr. (@KevinGraySports) October 23, 2025

Kidd’s coaching career has been up and down, but in four seasons with the Mavericks, he has a trip to the Western Conference Finals and an NBA Finals loss under his belt. The Mavericks have some talent outside of Flagg and Anthony Davis, who is healthy (for now). P.J. Washington and Dereck Lively will be important, while D’Angelo Russell is the replacement until Kyrie Irving returns.

Plenty of people wrote off the Mavericks when they traded Dončić to the Lakers. But after missing the playoffs last season, a top-four spot in the savage West would earn Kidd a look from NBA COTY bettors.