Byron Scott has been voted NBA coach of the year after leading the New Orleans Hornets to their first playoff appearance in four years.

Bill Haber / Associated Press

Hornets head coach Byron Scott

Scott coached the Hornets to a 56-26 record, a franchise high for wins. New Orleans won the Southwest Division crown and leads Dallas 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs entering Game 5 Tuesday night.

This is the first time Scott has won the Red Auerbach Trophy in eight seasons as a coach, four with the New Jersey Nets and the past four with the Hornets. Scott won three titles as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Scott took over the Hornets in 2004-05 and went 18-64 while presiding over a roster overhaul that included the trade of star guard Baron Davis to the Golden State Warriors.

New Orleans then drafted guard Chris Paul with the fourth overall pick in 2005 and steadily improved from there. The Hornets narrowly missed the playoffs last season before setting a franchise record for wins this season at 56-26, good for the Southwest Division crown and the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

This marks the first time Scott, who twice coached the New Jersey Nets to the NBA finals earlier this decade, has received the award.

Scott became a front-runner for the award after the Hornets went into the All-Star break with the best record in the Western Conference, which earned Scott the nod to coach the West squad in the game.

While the Hornets were widely expected to slide in the standings during the stretch drive toward the playoffs, they remained in contention for the top seed in the West until the final week of the season.

New Orleans won what many considered the toughest division in the NBA, finishing ahead of San Antonio, Houston and Dallas, all 50-win teams.

Other front-runners for coach of the year included Boston coach Doc Rivers, who led the Celtics to the best record in the NBA (66-16), as well as Houston coach Rick Adelman, who oversaw the Rockets' improbable 22-game winning streak and helped his team stay competitive after a season-ending foot injury to star center Yao Ming.

Rivers agreed with the choice of Scott.

"He should," Rivers said before the Celtics played Atlanta in Game 4 Monday night. "He really should. You look what they've done."