There is a science to predicting the NBA's Coach of the Year.
Oklahoma City Thunder's Mark Daigneault won the award in 2023-24, leading his team to 57 wins and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City had a win increase of 17 games from the prior season, clearing its preseason win total by 12.5 games.
And all those factors follow a familiar pattern in this market.
Over the last 14 seasons since 2010-11, the Coach of the Year has had an average playoff seed of 1.7. Nine of the 14 winners have claimed the No. 1 seed.