By Jordan Long
The Phoenix Suns have agreed to a contract extension with Head Coach Monty Williams. The details of the new contract weren’t announced but it will keep Williams in Phoenix for a while.
Williams has been the Suns’ Head Coach since the start of the 2019 season. The Suns fired Igor Kokoskov who didn’t have a chance to show what kind of coach he was. Kokoskov lasted one disastrous year which was the 2018-2019 season. The Suns finished 19-63, the second worst record in franchise history in terms of winning percentage. They ended with a winning percentage of .232. In 1969, the first year for the Suns in franchise history, they finished with a winning percentage of .195. Sure it didn’t seem fair because Kokoskov was the Head Coach for only one year but the Suns parted ways with him since the results weren’t there. They hired Williams.
Williams had prior NBA Head Coaching experience when he took the job. Williams coached New Orleans from 2010 to 2015. His overall record there was 173-221, a winning percentage of .439. New Orleans earned a playoff spot twice, 2011 and 2015, both first-round exits. New Orleans fired him after the 2015 season.
The Suns hired him, expecting Williams was the right choice to lead this basketball team. The results have shown he is. In the regular season, Williams coached the Suns to a 149-78 record including the best regular season finish in franchise history this past year. They ended at 64-18.
Phoenix earned a playoff spot the past two seasons. In 2021, they advanced to the NBA Finals and held a 2-0 series lead over the Milwaukee Bucks but lost 4 straight games. The Milwaukee Bucks ended up as NBA Champions.
This past season, the Suns were the best team in the NBA. Williams coached them to the longest winning streak in their franchise’s history of 18 games. It started on October 30th, 2021 when the Suns defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-92. The streak lasted until December 3rd, 2021 when Golden State knocked them off 118-96.
This looked like a team primed to advance back to the NBA Finals and this time win it. They faced Dallas in the 2nd-round. Dallas forced a game 7. In game 7, the Suns never showed up and were blasted by a final score of 123-90.
Once the final horn sounded, the Suns were in the offseason. They knew Williams would be back as Head Coach. He had two years left. The Suns front office chose to give him a contract extension, keeping Williams in Phoenix long-term.
Now Williams doesn’t have the pressure of coaching for another deal. He can focus on helping this team win a title. They were close in 2021 and he even won NBA Coach of the Year honors. Anything less than a championship with Williams as Head Coach could be viewed as a failure. At least he has plenty of time to deliver.
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