[Tommy]

Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - The post-season honors for the Phoenix Suns will continue to pile up, as an Arizona newspaper is reporting that Mike D'Antoni will be named the NBA's Coach of the Year.

The official announcement will come Tuesday, but the Arizona Republic cited a league source as its confirmation.

On Sunday, point guard Steve Nash was named the NBA's MVP.

D'Antoni guided the Suns to a 33-win turnaround in 2004-05, as the club went from 29 wins a year ago to the league's best record at 62-20 this season. It marked the third-best improvement in NBA history.

The only other Suns coach to win the league's top honor was Cotton Fitzsimmons in 1989. He led Phoenix to a 27-win jump from the previous season.

D'Antoni has been the head coach of the Suns since December 10, 2003, when he took over for Frank Johnson following an 8-13 start. Phoenix was 21-40 under D'Antoni to end the 2003-04 season and the club signed him to a two-year contract extension last May 12.

The Suns made a couple of moves in the off-season, the biggest being the acquisition of Nash to run the up-tempo style preferred by D'Antoni. Phoenix responded by leading the league in scoring average at 110.4 points per game.

D'Antoni has spent 31 years in professional basketball as a player, coach, front office executive and scout in the NBA, ABA and the Italian League. He joined the Suns' staff on June 25, 2002 as the top assistant coach.

This is the second NBA head coaching stint for D'Antoni, who guided the Denver Nuggets during the shortened lockout season in 1999, compiling a 14-36 record. He was the club's director of player personnel in 1997-98.

D'Antoni was also on the bench as an assistant for Portland in the 2000-01 season and was hired as a scout for San Antonio during the 1999-00 campaign.

As a head coach in Italy, he was twice honored as Coach of the Year.

05/09 13:07:54 ET

powered by www.sportsnetwork.com.