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Byron Scott was voted NBA coach of the year following a regular season in which the team won a franchise-record 56 games and earned their first playoff berth in four years.
"This is a very humbling experience for me because this is something you never think about," said Scott, according to the AP.
Scott received 70 first-place votes, while Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers received 23 and Houston Rockets coach Rick Adelman 17.
It is Scott's eighth season as an NBA coach, including four with the New Jersey Nets before joining the Hornets. Scott won three NBA titles as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers and twice coached the Nets to the NBA finals.
Scott accepted the Red Auerbach trophy hours before the Hornets, holding a 3-1 lead in their first round playoff series with the Dallas Mavericks, tipped off Game 5 Tuesday night.
Dallas lost the game, as well as their coach Avery Johnson. He was fired Wednesday by owner Mark Cuban after three-plus seasons and two straight years of playoff exits in the first round.
"It is never easy to relieve a coach of his duties, especially one of Avery's caliber," Cuban said in a statement. "He is a talented coach and I want to thank him for his efforts over the last four years and what he has done for this franchise."
Dallas has gone 3-12 in the playoffs since blowing a 2-0 lead in the 2006 NBA finals against Miami. The Mavericks followed that 2006 disappointment by the embarrassment of being ousted by Golden State in the opening round last season in one of the biggest upsets in league history.
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