Raptors Coach Dwane Casey wins Rudy Tomjanovich Award

The Toronto Raptors’ Dwane Casey won the 2015-16 Rudy Tomjanovich Award, which honors a coach for his cooperation with the media and fans, as well as his excellence on the court, the Professional Basketball Writers Association announced on Monday.

In his fifth season as the Raptors’ head coach, Casey led his team to a 56-26 record, the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

He starred in high school at Union County and was part of Kentucky’s national championship team in 1978. His coaching career has included stops at Kentucky (twice) and Western Kentucky, the Japanese Basketball League, NBA assistant stints with Seattle and Dallas, and a previous head coaching job with Minnesota.

The PBWA selected five finalists for this year’s award. The others were the Charlotte Hornets’ Steve Clifford, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Doc Rivers, the Boston Celtics’ Brad Stevens and the Detroit Pistons’ Stan Van Gundy.

Casey, 59, won the award through a vote of PBWA members.

The award is named for Rudy Tomjanovich, the former Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers coach “who always was professional and respectful in his dealings with the media,” the PBWA’s release said.

Casey will receive the Rudy Tomjanovich Award trophy during an on-court ceremony prior to the Raptors’ playoffs game Tuesday night against the Indiana Pacers in Toronto.

Past winners of the award are: Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz (2010-11); Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics (2011-12), George Karl, Denver Nuggets (2012-13), Frank Vogel, Indiana Pacers (2013-14) and Steve Kerr, Golden State Warriors (2014-15).

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Raptors Coach Dwane Casey wins Rudy Tomjanovich Award."