Hubie Brown won the NBA Coach of the Year award for the Atlanta Hawks in the 1977–78 season. It was Brown’s first NBA Coach of the Year honor and recognized the Hawks’ improvement under his leadership.
Brown took over Atlanta after coaching in the American Basketball Association, where he led the Kentucky Colonels. His first Hawks season was difficult, but Atlanta improved to a 41–41 record in 1977–78 and returned to the playoffs. That turnaround made Brown the award’s choice.
The team was officially known as the Atlanta Hawks, although the franchise had previously played in cities including Milwaukee and St. Louis. The 1977–78 Hawks were led by players such as John Drew and Eddie Johnson and competed in the NBA’s Central Division.
Brown later won the award again with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2003–04. That made him one of the few coaches to earn the honor with two different franchises, separated by more than two decades.