It didn't take long for Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams to establish himself as one of the NBA's best. He got the ball rolling in Orlando during the NBA bubble, ending the season on an eight-game winning streak. Williams' Suns have torched the league with a league-best 115-39 record over the last two regular seasons. That culminated in the No. 1 overall seed heading into the 2021-2022 playoffs at 64-18.

His presence brought stability to a once-tortured franchise that had seen four head coaches in the six seasons prior to his hiring in 2019. The Suns hadn't made the playoffs since a Western Conference Finals loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010.

The turnaround led by Willams has been nothing short of extraordinary. His peers around the NBA recognize the superb job he's done since taking the helm, as first reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Tuesday, Williams was named the Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award winner, as voted on by the NBA Coaches Association. He's now won the award in two of his three seasons as the Suns coach.

What's missing from Monty Williams' mantle — besides an NBA championship, of course — is the Red Auerbach trophy given out to the NBA Coach of the Year as voted on by the media. Williams fell short of the award a year ago when it went to Tom Thibodeau with the New York Knicks. But now. it appears he'll get the recognition he deserves.

Coaching consistency despite disruption

The Suns haven't exactly been a beacon of health this season. While not necessarily baring the burden of injury like the Western Conference two-seed Memphis Grizzlies, who have been terrific without Ja Morant for nearly a third of the season, the Suns' top two stars missed decent stretches throughout the year.

Devin Booker missed seven games in December to a hamstring injury. He later missed more time due to health and safety protocols. Chris Paul missed 15 games in February and March after fracturing his right thumb in a game against the Houston Rockets. Cam Johnson even missed some time toward the end of the season. He was absent for 13 straight games with a quad injury before returning for the final six.

The Suns showed their depth during these stretches. Mikal Bridges, who is becoming the Ironman of the NBA, played his trademark defense year-round, and stepped up offensively when needed. Players like Deandre Ayton and Cameron Payne expanded their roles when the main scorers missed time.

The Suns were far from the healthiest one-seed of all time, and Williams deserves credit for it.

Exceeding expectations

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In professional sports, Coach of the Year awards traditionally go to teams that came out of nowhere. Last year's Knicks fit that bill. They were the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference after winning just 21 games the year before.

Everybody expected Phoenix to be good. It kept the core in tact after reaching the NBA Finals a year ago. But even the Suns magical run through the west wasn't enough to earn respect throughout the league. Sure, they beat the Lakers, Nuggets and Clippers in the playoffs. It was a reasonable take over the summer to say that perhaps Phoenix wouldn't be able to run it back all the way through to the finals a second time.

But Williams proved it wasn't a fluke. The Suns were just that good. Maybe it took an 18-game winning streak in the first third of the season to earn the league's attention, but Phoenix proved that in a league built around dominant isolation play from superstars, there's still room for fundamentally strong, all-around teams in championship contention.

Monty Williams deserves to be the NBA Coach of the Year for that alone. As incredible as Booker and Paul are, there's no Lebron James on this team, nor is there a Kevin Durant or even a Kawhi Leonard. The Suns are doing things the Monty way, and that seems to be working out just fine.