Scott named top NBA coach for rebuilding New Orleans

Byron Scott, who guided the once-lowly New Orleans Hornets to a club-record 56-win season, was named the National Basketball Association Coach of the Year here Tuesday.

Scott, who won three NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s during a 14-year playing career, will receive the Red Auerbach Trophy after masterminding an 18-game improvement by the Hornets over last season.

Scott, 47, received 458 points, including 70 first-place votes, from a North American media panel with five points for first, three for second and one for third to become the first Hornets coach to ever receive the award.

Boston coach Doc Rivers was second with 242 votes and 23 first-place votes with Houston coach Rick Adelman third on 193 points with 17 first-place votes.

The Hornets went 56-26 to win their first Southwest Division title and place second in the Western Conference. They also set a club record with 26 road victories.

Scott began his NBA coaching career in 2000 with the New Jersey Nets, going 149-139 in 3 1/2 seasons. He helped lift the Nets from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003, losing both times.

He joined the Hornets in 2004 and the team has won more games each season after starting 18-64 in his debut season. That improvement came despite two seasons playing in Oklahoma City after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans.