Spurs' Gregg Popovich named Coach of the Year

Gregg Popovich coached the Spurs to a 15th consecutive 50-win season. (Christopher Trotman/Getty Images) San Antonio's Gregg Popovich was named NBA Coach of

Gregg Popovich coached the Spurs to a 15th consecutive 50-win season. (Christopher Trotman/Getty Images)

San Antonio's Gregg Popovich was named NBA Coach of the Year on Tuesday.

Popovich won the award for the third time after leading the Spurs to a league-best 62-20 record, including a franchise-best 30-11 on the road. San Antonio won 19 consecutive games from Feb. 26 to April 2, the longest streak in team history and tied for the fifth longest in NBA history. The Spurs dominated even as no player averaged at least 30 minutes per game -- an NBA first -- and used 30 different starting lineups, second most in the league.

Popovich joined Pat Riley and Don Nelson as the only three-time winners. He totaled 380 points, including 59 first-place votes, from a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters. Phoenix's Jeff Hornacek (37 first-place votes, 339 points), in his first season as a head coach, finished second. Chicago's Tom Thibodeau (12 first-place votes, 159 points) was third, followed by Charlotte's Steve Clifford and Toronto's Dwane Casey. 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.

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Hornacek had the most first-place votes for a runner-up since 2007. The Suns were the NBA's most-improved team, going from 25-57 to 48-34 and unexpectedly contending for a playoff spot in the deep Western Conference until the last week of the season.

The 65-year-old Popovich is the longest-tenured coach in the four major American sports leagues; he is completing his 18th season with San Antonio. The Spurs have won 50 or more games in 15 consecutive seasons and 16 of 17. The only exception was the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, when San Antonio went 37-13 (a 60-win pace).

The Spurs lead the Mavericks 1-0 in a first-round playoff series. Game 2 is Wednesday in San Antonio.

Click here to see how each media member voted. Complete voting results are below: