The NBA Coach of the Year odds for the 2024-25 season are bunched up near the top. Mark Daigneault of Oklahoma City is the most recent winner, as he took the Thunder to the #1 seed in the Western Conference.
As of late March, Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson is favored as his Cavaliers are fighting Daigneault’s Thunder for the top overall seed in the league!
There are three candidates worth a look in this season’s NBA Coach of the Year betting odds. I’m going to analyze the chances of the trio at NBA betting sites. At the end of the article, I’ll give you my NBA Coach of the Year prediction!
NBA Coach of the Year Odds for 2024-25
The following odds for NBA Coach of the Year are courtesy of Bovada.
| COACH | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Kenny Atkinson (Cavs) | -1400 |
| J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons) | +1000 |
| J.J. Redick (Lakers) | +5000 |
| Taylor Jenkins (Grizzlies) | +15000 |
| Mark Daigneault (Thunder) | +25000 |
The contenders in the 2025 COTY odds are headed by two coaches with ties to the Cleveland Cavaliers! Kenny Atkinson (-1400) is the resounding favorite at NBA betting sites as we head towards the stretch run, and he has an implied win probability of 93.3% to take it home for the first time!
Atkinson has led the Cavaliers to the top seed in the East, and they’re battling Oklahoma City for the top overall seed heading into the postseason.
Next is J.B. Bickerstaff (+1000), who carries an implied chance to win of 9.1%, and he helped to lay the foundation in Cleveland as the Cavs’ head coach for five seasons. But Bickerstaff has helped orchestrate one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history in Detroit!
I’ll give some love to J.J. Redick of the Los Angeles Lakers (+5000), who doesn’t have a high implied chance of winning at 1.96%. However, Redick has helped keep the Lakers steady after the Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis trade that shook the NBA world, and they’re miles better defensively than anyone would have thought.
I will let you know what my prediction is later in this post, but if you already made your mind, Bovada offers odds on all NBA coaches. You can find the most recent NBA Coach of the Year odds by clicking Sports > Basketball > NBA Awards and League Leaders > Coach of the Year.
NBA Coach of the Year 2024-25 Top Favorites
One coach has emerged as the frontrunner in these 2024-25 NBA COTY. He has separated himself from the pack by a decent margin.
Ime Udoka, Houston (+900)
Atkinson was fifth in the 2019 NBA Coach of the Year voting for helping to turn around a terrible Brooklyn team. The Nets fired Atkinson the next season for Jacque Vaughn, and then Steve Nash, and they have been truly awful ever since.
Our team is ready to crown Kenny Atkinson Coach of the Year!
“I think it’s undeniable Kenny Atkinson in his first year, you’re looking at 60+ wins, who knows maybe 70?”
Presented by https://t.co/WQBzvIwpki pic.twitter.com/ldf1rImWTn
— Bruce Drennan Show (@Bruce_Drennan) March 19, 2025
After assistant jobs with the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State, Atkinson was hired by Cleveland in June 2024, and the Cavaliers haven’t looked back! They’re 56-13 through 69 games as of March 20, and they have a firm hold on the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland is also one game behind Oklahoma City in the race for the top overall seed as of late March, which means potential home court advantage in the Finals!
The Cavaliers have improved from 16th in the NBA in offensive net rating to first this season, and Atkinson has made the Cleveland offense more unpredictable. It’s not just the Donovan Mitchell show anymore, as Evan Mobley is more involved and shooting from the outside.
Darius Garland has also emerged as a dark horse in the NBA Clutch Player of the Year odds. The Cavaliers were seventh in defensive net rating last season, and ninth this season. Mobley is the favorite in this season’s NBA DPOY odds!
Cleveland is a favorite in the NBA Championship odds, and it’s largely down to Atkinson leading the way!
Top NBA Coach of the Year Sleepers
There are a couple sleepers worth keeping your eye on. They’ll have a lot of work to do to overcome Atkinson, but you should still consider their odds.
J.B. Bickerstaff (+1000)
Cleveland’s current success is not a knock on Bickerstaff, who missed the playoffs with the Cavaliers in his first three seasons, then they lost in the first round in 2023, and in the second round last season. Bickerstaff showed that he is excellent with young players, which is why Detroit was happy to hire him within two months of being fired by Cleveland.
“You have to put some respect on the Pistons name now. That’s what J.B. Bickerstaff, their coach, has demanded of late, and they earned it with this shot.”
Mark Jones reacts to Cade Cunningham’s last-second three, giving the Pistons a win over the Heat. pic.twitter.com/QIzud5FrcC
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 20, 2025
The Pistons were the worst team in the league last season with a 14-68 record, but now they’re 39-31 through their first 70 games and in pole position for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. That would allow Detroit to skip the play-in round! The Pistons have gone from 27th to 14th in offensive net rating, and 25th to eighth in defensive net rating in just under a year!
But the biggest aspect of the turnaround is what Bickerstaff has done with Cade Cunningham. The former #1 pick was struggling through his first three seasons, and missed most of 2022-23 with a fractured shin.
But Bickerstaff has empowered Cunningham to control the offense, and it led to Cunningham’s first All-Star appearance. The rest of the team knows their roles, and have figured out how to play around the 23-year-old star.
Bickerstaff has made the Pistons a tougher team than ever, and everyone knows that when you play Detroit now, you’re going to know it the next day. Some think they can pull off a first-round upset, and much of the credit has to go to Bickerstaff. I don’t think he’ll win, but Bickerstaff offers some fantastic value in his NBA COY odds!
J.J. Redick (+5000)
Redick definitely isn’t going to win the Coach of the Year award, but the first-year coach should be acknowledged for the work he has done. The Lakers are 43-25 and third in the West, and have gone through plenty of changes this season. As a rookie coach, Redick has had to deal with the Bronny James situation, coaching a legend like LeBron James, and in a city that has high expectations for the Lakers.
“This team has figured some stuff out on defense that I just didn’t think was possible.”@BillSimmons and @ryenarussillo assess how JJ Redick has helped make the Lakers a contender in his first season as head coach. pic.twitter.com/d8aBwyrD4c
— The Ringer (@ringer) March 3, 2025
Then, the Lakers blew the NBA world up with the Dončić-Davis trade on February 2, so Redick has had to integrate the Slovenian superstar into the lineup, without much practice at that. The Lakers have also been excellent defensively, which no one expected when they traded Davis. They’re fourth in defensive rating over their last 15 games, going 11-4 over that time. The senior James has also been out with a groin issue recently.
This is all to say, Redick has done a good job in his first year as a head coach. He has been thrusted into a tough situation, but Redick was a player in the league for 15 years. He knows what this life is about, and while he has made some mistakes, Redick acknowledges them, and moves on. I’m not going to wager on his 2025 NBA Coach of the Year odds, despite the crazy value it presents, but Redick should finish top 3-5 in the voting.
NBA Coach of the Year Prediction and Betting Pick for 2024-25
It’s going to come down to either Atkinson or Bickerstaff. Personally, I think Bickerstaff has done more with far less, and he would get my vote.
However, I sadly don’t get a vote, and my NBA Coach of the Year prediction is that Atkinson will get the nod from the voters. The Cavaliers have been superb all season along, winning 15 in a row between October and November, and they recently had a 16-game winning streak.
There is still the question of how they’ll perform in the postseason, but fortunately for Atkinson, this is a regular-season award. I’m predicting that Kenny Atkinson will win, but at -1400, I’m avoiding the bet because of the lack of value.
Where to Bet on the 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year Odds?
You can place your bet on Kenny Atkinson’s Coach of the Year NBA odds, and more, at Bovada! The sportsbook covers all head coaches in the NBA throughout the season, and eliminates options as the season progresses.
You can also receive a welcome bonus of 100% up to $1,000 for new customers with code BV1000 . You can use this bonus to wager on more NBA Coach of the Year options, as well as other futures such as NBA Championship odds and NBA MVP odds.
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