“Monty has raised the standard for our organization and overseen the transformation of our team’s culture since he joined as head coach three years ago,” said General Manager James Jones. “We’re excited to announce this extension and look forward to continuing to build upon this success in the years ahead.”
The 2021-22 NBA Coach of the Year, in addition to being selected by his peers as the NBCA Coach of the Year winner for both 2020-21 and 2021-22, Williams is heading into his fourth season as the Suns’ head coach since joining the organization in 2019. In his first three seasons as head coach, the Suns have become the first team in NBA history to increase their win total by at least 13 wins in three consecutive seasons, recording one Western Conference title, two Pacific Division titles and two playoff appearances.
“I’m grateful to extend my commitment to this team and to all the people who make it a special place,” said Williams. “Our players put in the work every day that allows us to be successful, and I’m excited to continue this journey with them. I appreciate the constant effort of our staff and every member of the Suns organization; it is a joy to work alongside them all. Our fans are incredible and have made my family and I feel so welcome in the Valley. I’m thankful for them and look forward to continue to work in the community here.”
“This is a get to, not a got to. It’s a blessing to be head coach of the Phoenix Suns.”
Last season, Williams and the Suns set a franchise record by winning 64 games and finished with the NBA’s best record by eight games above the second best, the league’s largest differential in 22 years. The 2021-22 Suns also set a franchise record with 32 road wins and became just the second team in NBA history to record a better road record than any other team’s home record (1969-70 New York Knicks). The team went on a franchise record 18-game winning streak from Oct. 30 to Dec. 2 and had four separate winning streaks of at least eight games.
In 2020-21, Williams led the Suns to the NBA’s second-best record and the team’s first Pacific Division title since 2007. This preceded a memorable playoff run in which the Suns won a franchise postseason record nine straight games on the way to the third Western Conference title in team history, and first since 1993. The Suns posted the league’s best road record and had the best record over the season’s final 56 regular season games (43-13).
In his first season as Suns head coach in 2019-20, Williams oversaw a 15-win improvement, guiding the Suns to an 8-0 record in the NBA Restart after the season was suspended and just missing the play-in by a tiebreaker. Since entering the ‘Bubble’ in July 2020, the Suns have gone 123-39 in regular season games, a .759 winning percentage.
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