2026 NBA Coach of the Year Early Odds: Magic's Jamahl Mosley Ahead Of The Field

Alex Murray
By: Alex Murray
Jul 21, 2025
NBA Picks
Photo by Wikimedia Commons, CC by 2.0

Photo by Wikimedia Commons, CC by 2.0

The 2025-2026 NBA season is inching ever so close. Tip off is now just three months away. In the meantime, we are getting a glimpse of the youngsters in the league during NBA Summer League. We also get to see how coaches are building relationships with their players.

The NBA Coach of the Year award, renamed the Red Auerbach Trophy a few years ago, either goes to a coach who has turned a rag-tag group of youngsters into a competitive team, or a coach who leads a group of stars to an extremely dominant campaign.

Let’s check out the early race for the 2025-2026 NBA Coach of the Year, including the current NBA betting odds and favorites to go home with the hardware.

Highlights

  • Jamahl Mosley leads the way after finishing second in the voting two seasons ago
  • No coach has ever won this award in back-to-back years
  • The last 10 winners of this award have averaged just over 57 wins that season

2025-2026 NBA Coach of the Year July Odds: Breakdown & Value Picks - July 21

All odds provided by Betway.

2025-2026 NBA Coach of the Year Betting Odds

PlayerJuly 21 Odds
Jamahl Mosley, ORL+450
Quin Snyder, ATL+650
David Adelman, DEN+700
Ime Udoka, HOU+700
J.B. Bickerstaff, DET+1,200
Mitch Johnson, SAS+1,200
Darko Rajakovic, TOR+2,000
J.J. Redick, LAL+2,000
Chris Finch, MIN+2,200
Mike Brown, NYK+2,500
Mark Daigneault, OKC+3,000
Tyronn Lue, LAC+3,000
Nick Nurse, PHI+3,300
Charles Lee, CHA+4,000
Erik Spoelstra, MIA+4,000
Joe Mazzulla, BOS+4,000
Kenny Atkinson, CLE+4,000

The Favorites

Jamahl Mosley, Orlando Magic (+450): Generally, a coach that wins Coach of the Year in the NBA can expect to do so if they are able to increase their team’s win total year-over-year by about 15. Apart from Steve Kerr’s 73-win Warriors and two Raptors outliers, seven of the last 10 winners have improved their team’s win total by 13 to 20 wins.

Mosley’s Magic were straight average last year at 41-41, so if they can jump into the mid-50s in terms of wins, Mosley will have the inside track for this award. We are very bullish on this Magic team, and we think they are about to pop in 2025-2026. We don’t love the lack of value betting apps are giving us here with +450 odds, but this looks like the best bet on the board based on past precedent.

Quin Snyder, Atlanta Hawks (+650): The Hawks and Quin Snyder are in a similar boat, as they won just 40 games last year. They acquired Kristaps Porzingis, but will the big man even be able to play? That illness from the 2025 playoffs did not seem insignificant. We’re not sure even a healthy Porzingis warrants Snyder being this high on the list. Avoid this one.

David Adelman, Denver Nuggets (+700): This is a great story, with David Adelman coming on just before the playoffs and doing an impressive job. Denver has added shrewdly during this offseason, with acquisitions like Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. We expect them to be better than the 50-win team they were last year, but it’s hard to win COY when you have the MVP on your team. Unless you win 73 games like Kerr did.

Ime Udoka, Houston Rockets (+700): Apart from Mosley this is probably our favorite bet among the favorites. The Rockets won 52 games last year, but they clearly overperformed and lost in Round 1 of the playoffs. With the massive addition of Kevin Durant, we think they could be a 60-something win team this year. If they earn the top seed in the West, Udoka would be a shoo-in here at very enticing +700 odds.

Long Shot Value Bets

  • Mitch Johnson, San Antonio Spurs (+1,200): The league loves the Spurs and they love a comeback story. Taking over for the most beloved coach in NBA history in Greg Popovich will mean that the bar is low for Mitch Johnson. He could steal this one if the Spurs finish with more than 41 wins and a playoff spot.
  • Tyronn Lue, Los Angeles Clippers (+3,000): Believe it or not, Tyronn Lue has never won this award. It seems like he should have done once or even twice, but he has yet to hoist the hardware. He’s one of the best coaches in the game, and the Clippers have added interesting pieces so far. They did win 50 games last year though, so it would take a truly dominant campaign for the Clips.
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Alex is a recent graduate of Ryerson's Sport Media program in 2019 and has been contributing to BettingTop10 since 2020. He has worked in the field of sports and sports betting for several years, including writing for theScore and daily fantasy sports website FantasyPros as one of their lead NBA news writers. A dedicated sports fan and experienced sports bettor, Alex has the knowledge to provide you with the best betting advice and the sneakiest props no matter what the sport may be.