NBA: Bucks’ Budenholzer, OKC’s Donovan are Coach of the Year winners

Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer and Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan have won the NBA Coach of the Year award.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the development on Twitter, reporting that the two mentors were tied for the annual award.

The NBA's 30 head coaches vote on the award. Toronto's Nick Nurse was one vote away from making it a three-way tie, per sources. https://t.co/ieujiIrsDB

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 3, 2020

Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, meanwhile, was one vote away from making it a triple tie.

Budenholzer, the 2019 winner, led the Bucks, along with superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, to a league-best record throughout the season.

The mentor served as a long-time assistant to San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich before taking on a head coaching role.

In 2015, Bud led the Atlanta Hawks to 60 wins, also getting the Coach of the Year award.

Meanwhile, Donovan surpassed expectations as the Thunder went on to still become a competitive squad in the running for a high playoff seed even after the departure of Russell Westbrook due to a trade with Chris Paul.

Voting for the NBA’s annual awards (MVP, ROY, etc.) was conducted from July 21 to 28 and included the games tallied prior to the lockdown.

It is only the 2nd tie in NBA CotY voting. In 2017, Mike D’Antoni and Erik Spoelstra were also voted co-winners.