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Casey, Stevens, Snyder finalists for NBA Coach of the Year

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images

Dwane Casey (Toronto Raptors), Brad Stevens (Boston Celtics), and Quin Snyder (Utah Jazz) were announced as the three finalists for this year's NBA Coach of the Year award on Wednesday.

The winner will be revealed on June 25 at the NBA Awards show in Los Angeles.

Casey was recently voted Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association, an award given out by the league's 30 coaches. The honor came just days prior to the Raptors firing him following a second-round sweep courtesy of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers - the third year in a row Toronto had been sent packing by Cleveland.

It was an unfortunate end to his seven-year tenure, but Casey still deserves a great deal of credit for revamping his offense, riding his young second unit to the degree he did, and instituting changes that usually only come with a new coach.

The Celtics held down the league's top-ranked defense by allowing just 101.5 points per 100 possessions. They lost key offseason acquisition Gordon Hayward just minutes into the season opener, and then were without All-Star Kyrie Irving for 22 outings, as well.

Stevens wound up getting major contributions out of rookie Jayson Tatum and sophomore Jaylen Brown to compensate, snagging the second seed in the East with 55 victories.

Right behind Boston in defense were the surprise Jazz (101.6 points allowed), managing to win 48 games despite the loss of franchise stud Hayward to Beantown last summer. Snyder rode rookie Donovan Mitchell as his new No. 1 option, placed his trust in point guard Ricky Rubio, and took a team many believed would be on the outside looking in to narrowly missing out on home-court advantage in the opening round.

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