San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was named the winner of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the NBA Coach of the Year for the 2002-03 season, the NBA announced today.

Popovich, who is the first Spurs coach in franchise history to earn the Auerbach Trophy, received 281 points, including 40 first-place votes from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received. First-year head coach Eric Musselman of the Golden State Warriors finished second with 231 points (26 first-place votes) and Utah’s Jerry Sloan finished third with 143 points (18 first-place votes).

Named the Spurs head coach on December 10, 1996, Popovich has collected a regular season-record of 339-185 (.646) in six seasons at the helm and is the Spurs’ all-time leader in coaching victories.

This season, the Spurs posted a 60-22 overall mark – tying for the best overall record in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks – and won their fourth Midwest Division title under Popovich’s tutelage. The Spurs also notched a league-best 18-2 record over their last 20 road games and secured the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs. The 2002-03 season marks the second time in franchise history that the Spurs finished with 60 or more wins (1994-95, 62-20).

Popovich joined the Spurs in July 1988 as an assistant coach on Larry Brown’s staff. He spent the next four seasons in San Antonio for a Spurs franchise that won a pair of Midwest Division titles. In the summer of 1992, Popovich was named an assistant coach on Don Nelson’s staff with the Golden State Warriors. He spent the next two seasons with the Warriors before re-joining the Spurs on May 31, 1994, as the club’s general manager. He assumed head coaching responsibilities in December 1996. Popovich led San Antonio to its first NBA title, a five-game triumph over the New York Knicks, in the 1999 NBA Finals.

The Coach of the Year Award is named after legendary coach and Hall of Famer Red Auerbach who guided the Celtics to nine NBA Championships. In 1996 Auerbach was honored as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History as the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Coach, Team 1st 2nd 3rd Pts
Gregg Popovich, San Antonio 40 21 18 281
Eric Musselman, Golden State 26 27 20 231
Jerry Sloan, Utah 18 14 11 143
Rick Carlisle, Detroit 8 21 14 117
Rich Adelman, Sacramento 8 16 13 71
Flip Saunders, Minnesota 5 6 14 57
Hubie Brown, Memphis 5 6 4 47
Don Nelson, Dallas 3 3 8 32
Larry Brown, Philadelphia 3 4 3 30
Maurice Cheeks, Portland 2 1 10 23
Frank Johnson, Phoenix 1 5 2 22
Paul Silas, New Orleans 1 3 3 17
Byron Scott, New Jersey 1 1 0 8
Phil Jackson, Los Angeles 0 1 1 4
Isiah Thomas, Indiana 0 1 0 3
Rudy Tomjanovich, Houston 0 1 0 3

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