As the head coach of one of the NBA’s hottest teams, Jason Kidd has once again been recognized among the top coaches in the league.
The NBA announced Tuesday that Coach Kidd was named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for March. The honor marks his second of the season—he also earned the award in January.
J-Kidd is the first coach in franchise history to be named Coach of the Month twice in one season, and he’s also the first coach with double honors in the NBA this season. He joins Chicago’s Tom Thibodeau as just the second first-year coach to claim the award more than once in a season since the award’s inception during the 1982-83 season.
Congrats dad @RealJasonKidd on winning coach of the month 4 the 2x this season. Love you. #CoachOfTheMonth #UEarnedIt pic.twitter.com/3WghP9Mzv4
— TJ Kidd (@TJKidd5) April 1, 2014
Jason Kidd is the first coach in Nets franchise history to win the Coach of the Month award twice in the same season.
— devin kharpertian (@uuords) April 1, 2014
Jason Kidd and Tom Thibodeau are the only rookie coaches to earn coach of the month more than once in their first season.
— Andy Vasquez (@andy_vasquez) April 1, 2014
The awards have come on the heels of a fantastic resurgence by Brooklyn. The Nets finished 12-4 in March, which was the East’s best record in that span. It also matched the franchise mark for most wins in the month of March.
Brooklyn was unblemished at home in the Barclays Center for the month, carrying on its 13-game home winning streak, which ties the franchise record.
The wins have come in impressive fashion, as Coach Kidd has his team at top form with the playoffs approaching. The Nets held 12 of their 16 foes in March under 100 points while eclipsing triple digits scoring in each of the last eight games.
#Nets have scored 100-plus points for 8th straight game, which is their longest streak of 100-plus point games since 1994, per Nets PR.
— Tom Lorenzo (@TomLorenzo) March 31, 2014
Brooklyn put together the high-scoring streak by connecting on 40.4 percent of their three-point attempts in March, the third-best rate in the league. Their defense also worked to the tune of a league-leading 10.6 steals per contest.
J-Kidd’s squad has been on a tear despite the absence of several stars, including center Brook Lopez (who has been out since mid-December), Kevin Garnett and Andrei Kirilenko. As a result, bench contributions and the quick development of rookie center Mason Plumlee have been vital.
After entering the 2014 calendar year 11 games below .500, Brooklyn has looked like a different team. Now heading into the final 10 games of the season, the Nets (39-33) hold the No. 5 seed and are just two games off the Atlantic Division lead and the No. 3 seed in the East.
They can clinch a playoff berth Tuesday night with a victory at home over the Houston Rockets (49-23).
