Tom Thibodeau of the Chicago Bulls will be named the 2011 NBA Coach of the Year during a Sunday afternoon news conference, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The Bulls and NBA have announced a major award presentation for 4:30 p.m. ET at the Berto Center in Chicago. Early reports suggested either Thibodeau or Derrick Rose could be the honoree, but Rose's assumed MVP presentation will have to wait.
Thibodeau led the Bulls to a 62-20 record in his first season as a head coach at the NBA level, a 21-game improvement over last season. Thibodeau currently has the best winning percentage of any coach in NBA history at .756, better than Phil Jackson's previous record of .704.
The Thibodeau announcement should come at halftime of Game 1 of the Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics series on Sunday. The Bulls tip off their second-round series against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.