“I just questioned why that happened to my wife; Why did that have to happen to my children?" - NBA Coach of the Year winner opens up on the hardships he has faced in his career so far
NBA and Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams is on the verge of taking his team to the Western Conference finals for the second year straight as Williams has established himself as one of the best coaches in the league.
In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Williams opened up about his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he tragically lost his wife to a car accident. He also discussed how he continued raising their three kids alone while questioning the tragedy. Williams said:
"I did question it. I didn’t question his love for me. I didn’t question his plan for me. I just questioned why that happened to my wife. Why did that have to happen to my children? Why didn’t it happen to me? That was my question. I would much rather have her here than her gone. My kids got to deal with me. I’d much rather it had been me. Those are my questions."
The Phoenix Suns, led by Monty Williams, will go up against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night with the matchup against the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals at stake.
“Here I am internally feeling like I deserve something. It took me about a week or two to get to that point where I was like, man, I should be way more grateful and thankful than I am right now,” Suns coach Monty Williams to @andscape on losing the Finals. bit.ly/3MewQt5
Is Monty Williams the best coach in the NBA?
Monty Williams was named Coach of the Year after taking the Phoenix Suns to a 64-win season this year and has the best record in the NBA all the while playing in the Western Conference. The likes of Ty Lue, Erik Spoelstra and Nick Nurse are the ones mentioned in the same sentence as Monty Williams for being the best coach in the NBA.
What should be kept in mind is the body of work that Williams has done during his tenure with the Phoenix Suns, thus far, as he took them from a lottery team to the NBA Finals in two years. They went from being a 19-win team to falling just two games short of winning the championship.
Monty Williams is the 2021-2022 NBA Coach of the Year! https://t.co/zpyjdp6FvR
The development of players like Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges, along with the acquisition of Chris Paul, has elevated this team from being one of the worst in the league to one of the best. The roster is built around these players as Williams trusts them to carry out his instructions on the court.
They have seemingly got even better this season after reaching the NBA Finals and are in contention for the NBA championship this season as Monty Williams garners the respect and admiration of his peers.