After guiding the Milwaukee Bucks to a record of 14-4 for the month of March, Jason Kidd has been named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Coach of the Month.
With a hot streak to guide the Milwaukee Bucks not just back into playoff contention, but also to make them one of the least desirable opponents for higher seeds in the first round, it has been a good few weeks for Jason Kidd.
Although the focus for Milwaukee’s head coach will remain on achieving a strong finish to the season and then competing in the playoffs, he can afford himself a brief moment to pause and acknowledge the recognition he has received from the NBA for his team’s recent play.
Kidd was named the March’s Eastern Conference Coach of the Month on Monday, following an impressive 14-4 month for the Bucks.
Bucks coach Jason Kidd named Eastern Conference coach of the month after Bucks' 14-4 record in March.
— cfgardner (@cf_gardner) April 3, 2017
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This marked the third occasion when Kidd has picked up this accolade, although with the previous two coming in January and March of 2014 with the Brooklyn Nets, this is Kidd’s first such accolade as coach in Milwaukee.
The Bucks finished the month of March with the Eastern Conference’s best record, ahead of the Boston Celtics (11-5) and Miami Heat (10-6). They also were owners of the most wins in the month league-wide, and only trailed the Portland Trail Blazers (13-3) for the best winning percentage in the NBA for the month.
Beyond the context of Milwaukee’s stellar March around the NBA this season, it stands out as a notable run in the history of the franchise.
This marks the first time the Bucks finished a calendar month with 14 wins since February of 1971, when that feat was matched by a team led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson and Bob Dandridge, who would go on to claim the franchise’s sole championship that summer.
Considering the up and down nature of the season for the Milwaukee Bucks, and Jason Kidd by association, this can only be termed as a remarkable turnaround.
In recent days, the result has been a number of notable figures voicing their opinion that Kidd is deserving of Coach of the Year consideration. Rachel Nichols and Zach Lowe brought up the idea on ESPN’s The Jump last week, while prior to Sunday’s game with the Dallas Mavericks, Kidd’s former coach Rick Carlisle advocated for his former floor general’s candidacy.
Rick Carlisle was asked an innocuous question about Thon Maker during pregame. He responded with some high praise for Kidd, Maker & Bucks. pic.twitter.com/OoTHiFC08b
— Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) April 2, 2017
Those who have watched the Bucks and Kidd’s work closely throughout the season will have plenty of reasons to be skeptical about his case for the league’s annual award, but if timing your run plays a factor in convincing voters, perhaps recency bias could give Kidd a genuine chance.
Next: Win In 6 Podcast #109: Coach of the Month? Coach of the Year?
Without getting into debating the merits of his candidacy for the season-long award, it’s hard to dispute the fact that Jason Kidd has earned his honors for the month of March. Congratulations to J-Kidd, and let’s hope he can keep that positive momentum rolling into the playoffs.