Hornets' Scott is voted NBA coach of the year

NEW ORLEANS — When Chris Paul arrived for a workout before the 2005 NBA draft, Byron Scott took him to lunch and said the Hornets wanted the point guard if he was still available at the fourth pick.

Utah, which also needed a guard, picked ahead of New Orleans but went with Deron Williams. So Scott got his man, built his team around him, and Tuesday wore a wide grin as he glanced down at the Red Auerbach trophy in his hands.

Scott was voted the NBA coach of the year by a wide margin following a regular season in which the Hornets won a franchise-record 56 games and earned their first playoff berth in four years.

"This is a very humbling experience for me because this is something you never think about," said Scott, joking that the statuette of Auerbach "kind of looks like me."

"All I think about is getting great guys and trying to make them better and trying to win basketball games, so this is very special," Scott said. "I've got an unbelievable group of guys that I enjoy being around every day. They are a special group. I love them dearly. There's not a coach in this business that has a better job than I do."

Scott received 70 first-place votes, while Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers received 23 and Houston Rockets coach Rick Adelman 17. Utah coach Jerry Sloan was sixth in the voting with six first-place votes.

It is Scott's eighth season as an NBA coach, including four with the New Jersey Nets before joining the Hornets. Scott won three NBA titles as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers and twice coached the Nets to the NBA finals.

Scott accepted the trophy hours before the Hornets, holding a 3-1 lead in their first round playoff series with the Dallas Mavericks, tipped off Game 5 Tuesday night.

Owner George Shinn, general manager Jeff Bower, players and numerous front-office personnel crowded into a room in the New Orleans Arena for the presentation.

Bower called the award a reflection of a team "growing together, struggling together and improving together to get to the point where we stand here today to celebrate what's generally noted as one of the premier awards in the game.