2024 NBA Coach of the Year Odds: Thunder's Daigneault Still Leads, Finch Holding Steady

Previous COY betting action

4/3/2024: Things are getting very interesting in both the chase for the West's No. 1 seed and the Coach of the Year odds race. Daigneault's still out in front, but Chris Finch, after falling to +1,500 last week, has improbably shot back up the board, as Minnesota's still thriving with Karl-Anthony Towns sidelined for an extended stretch.

At 8-2 in its past 10, Minnesota's still within a half-game of the No. 1 seed that was widely assumed to be out reach when Towns went down in March. Finishing the season strong without KAT would be a fitting close to a season where expectations for the Timberwolves have been roundly exceeded.

3/27/2024: While Daigneault continues to lead COY odds comfortably, Orlando's Jamahl Mosley has made his move, leapfrogging to the second choice with Orlando charging towards a possible home-court seed in the East.

While OKC's success was far more widely predicted this season, Mosley's steered the Magic to a dominant defensive campaign, way ahead of schedule for the perpetually-rebuilding franchise that finally seems to be gaining traction towards a promising arc.

3/21/2024: Despite the Celtics lapping the field for the 2023-24 regular season and the fight for the West's No. 1 seed remaining tight, the COY odds continue to be the Mark Daigneault show, as the favorite is putting serious distance between himself and the rest of the field.

As podcast award season begins, OKC's precocious campaign seems to be landing him in voters' favor, regardless of who wins the West, and oddsmakers seem less concerned with a late swing for the likes of Joe Mazzulla or Chris Finch. 

3/13/2024: The Top 3 continue to hold strong this week, creating more distance between themselves and the rest of the pack. Daigneault continues to inch towards shorter odds-on status, with OKC having eclipsed its win total O/U with almost 20 games to spare, and currently holding down the No. 1 spot in the West.

But Joe Mazzulla continues to lurk within realistic range, despite the Celtics losing back-to-back games last week for the first time all season. And Chris Finch's odds have only slightly worsened in the wake of Karl-Anthony Towns' knee injury, with the possibility of the Wolves finishing strong adding to his COY narrative.

3/6/2024: As we hit the home stretch, the Celtics' recent 11-game win streak and overall domination of the NBA this season have seen Joe Mazzulla threaten Chris Finch's spot as Mark Daigneault's bridesmaid.

The Boston bench boss is now priced pretty much alongside Finch at major outlets, as Daigneault continues to inch away from the field despite the West standings holding strong with Minnesota on top.

2/28/2024: Another week, another staredown between Finch and Daigneault, with the latter seeing the market continue to move towards him, albeit slowly. The Wolves and Thunder are tied atop the West at 41-17 as of writing, but Daigneault's work with his precocious OKC squad is gaining traction. 

Elsewhere, Joe Mazzulla continues to gain momentum as the Celtics put huge distance between themselves and the rest of the East, but despite Boston's dominance, this is shaping up to be a two-man race to the finish. 

2/21/2024: As we get set for play to resume after the All-Star break, there hasn't been much change atop the odds board. Daigneault and Finch still lead across the board, with Bickerstaff and Lue trailing slightly. However, these Top 4 seem to have solidified themselves, consolidating the collective odds.

Fiftch choice Rick Carlisle is now relatively distant in the +1,800 range, while several coaches such as Jamahl Mosley and Nick Nurse have seen their odds plummet over the past couple of weeks. It seems increasingly like a four-horse race for COY, with Finch inching towards Daigneault over the past week. 

2/7/2024: Mark Daigneault and Chris Finch continue to fight atop the COY odds, just as their teams are fighting atop the Western Conference.

While the favorites remain undisturbed for now, plenty of movement has shuffled the rest of the board, with JB Bickerstaff seeing his odds shorten considerably now that the Cavs are surging up the East.

Tyronn Lue has also continued to inch towards the top tier of contenders as the Clippers now look like a legit title threat, and Tom Thibodeau has cracked the Top 10, with the Knicks suddenly a very Thibs team on D again with OG Anunoby's arrival, and wreaking havoc in the East.

1/23/2024: The top of the market continues to hold steady, with Mark Daigneault and Chris Finch pacing the field, holding a comfortable lead over third choice Rick Carlisle.

Utah's Will Hardy is the significant riser over the past few weeks, threatening to break through the fringe tier of contenders as Utah powers its way back into the West playoff picture. The market continues to like Joe Mazulla and Tyronn Lue, holding steady among those with an outside chance of catching the favorites. 

Falling out of the Top 10 this past week was the Bucks' Adrian Griffin, ominously forecasting his Tuesday afternoon firing, just months after being named to Milwaukee's head coaching position. 

1/3/2024: Mark Daigneault now holds down the top spot, with the Thunder now just a game behind the Wolves in the West, riding a five-game winning streak, including their most recent win over the league-leading Celtics. Chris Finch is right there in lockstep with the favorite at most books, and Jamahl Mosley continuing to lurk in a not-so-distant third.

The market has moved heavily towards this Top 3 in the past few weeks however, with most books slooting the rest of the field at 20:1 or worse, despite inspiring runs from the likes of Nick Nurse and Ime Udoka. 

12/20/2023: With Minnesota holding a safe-for-now lead in the West at 20-5, Chris Finch has shot to the top of the Coach of the Year odds, leapfrogging preseason favorite Mark Daigneault of OKC.

The Thunder are second in the West, and the race for the conference crown could very well end up deciding this award down the stretch. The market slowly inched away from East contenders Jamahl Mosley and Rick Carlisle this week. 

12/12/2023: Mark Daigneault continues to hold down favorite status with the Thunder sitting second in the West, ahead of even the most optimistic expectations for their impending leap. 

But it's not a safe lead by any means, with the Wolves and Magic also wildly outperforming expectations. As such, Chris Finch and Jamahl Mosley are breathing down Daigneault's neck — their squads also both owning Top-2 seeds a quarter of the way into the season.

11/22/2023: A month into the season, we've seen a flurry of COY odds movement, with the preseason favorite reasserting himself at the favorite, with Mark Daigneault riding OKC's precocious start to an early, but slim, lead.

Other big risers over the past couple of weeks include Chris Finch and Ime Udoka, with the Wolves and Rockets blowing early projections out of the water, contending for homecourt and the play-in, respectively, out West. 

11/8/2023: With the season underway, we're starting to see the COY odds shift, leaving Joe Mazzulla as the new favorite after Boston's 5-1 start with an NBA-best net rating. 

While Denver's Michael Malone and OKC's Mark Daigneault have maintained their perches near the top of the board, Indiana's Rick Carlisle is the big riser early in the season, up from +2,800 to +1,100 with the Pacers rocking the NBA's best offense.

10/18/2023: No movement in this market for three weeks now. As one of the less-popular NBA futures, books won't manicure their prices as closely for COY odds, without the handle that markets like MVP or the NBA Finals command. Expect to see these prices peddled until the 2023-24 season has at least a couple of games under its belt.

10/11/2023: After a shakeup following the Damian Lillard trade to Milwaukee (which sent Bucks coach Adrian Griffin up the board), the market has remained silent, with only minimal movement over the past couple weeks, none of which inside the Top 10.

9/27/2023: This market had been dormant for weeks, but Wednesday's blockbuster trade landed Damian Lillard in Milwaukee, spiking rookie head coach Adrian Griffin to second choice at +700, up from +1,200.

While Griffin's job just got a whole lot easier with arguably the greatest inside-out offensive combo in NBA history at this disposal, expectations will now be sky-high, and this award isn't kind to rookie head coaches, as one hasn't won COY in 23 years. 

9/15/2023: The Thunder's Mark Daigneault sits atop a relatively tight field preseason, with OKC teeming with upside and seemingly ready to ascend the West hierarchy. Behind him sit the Heat's Erik Spoelstra — fresh off yet another Finals run — and the Celtics' Joe Mazzulla, looking to make even more of an impact with a full season of expectations under his belt.

Overall, the field's priced very tightly, as this is a high-variance award that's largely based on narrative, where any number of surprise contenders can emerge midseason. While the pieces are mostly in place for Daigneault & Co. to contend, don't be surprised if this board looks entirely different come December or January.

4/19/2023: Mike Brown was named the NBA's first unanimous Coach of the Year winner, leading the Kings to their first postseason appearance since the Mesozoic Era. Brown swept all 100 first-place votes, beating out finalists Mark Daignault of OKC and Boston's Joe Mazzulla.