Stotts is the first Trail Blazers head coach to win the award since 1992
For immediate release
PORTLAND, Oregon (July 24) -- The Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year award was presented to a member of the Portland Trail Blazers coaching staff for the first time in nearly three decades on Wednesday.
Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts, who led the Trail Blazers to their first Western Conference finals appearance in 19 years in May, was crowned the winner by the Oregon Sports Awards’ voting panel. Stotts is the first Trail Blazers head coach to win the award since Rick Adelman in 1992.
Stotts joins Adelman (1990, 1992), Jack Ramsay (1977) and Harry Glickman (1970) on the list of Trail Blazers head coaches or administrators who have received the award. The honor is given annually to the most outstanding coach or sports administrator in Oregon.
Stotts appeared on NBC Sports Northwest’s talk show “The Bridge” on Wednesday to participate in a phone interview and accept his award. Click here to listen to highlights of Stotts’ dialogue with show host Justin Myers.
He turned in perhaps his best coaching job in the Rose City during the 2018-2019 season. The Trail Blazers’ run to the Western Conference finals was punctuated with playoff series victories over Northwest Division rivals Oklahoma City and Denver. Stotts’ has led Portland to six consecutive postseason appearances.
Stotts’ 53 regular season victories were his second-most since guiding the Trail Blazers to a 54-28 finish in the 2013-2014 season. Portland has now eclipsed the 50-win mark three times in Stotts’ seven seasons with the franchise.
He was named Western Conference Coach of the Month twice and became just the second coach to record 300 victories with the franchise in January. Only Ramsay, who led the Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA Championship, has more career wins (453). Stotts now holds a 325-249 (56.6 percent) career record with Portland.
Stotts also saw guard Damian Lillard receive his fourth NBA All-Star game invitation and finish sixth in the Most Valuable Player vote.
He agreed to a contract extension in May that will keep him in Portland through the 2021-2022 season. Should Stotts complete his contract, he will have spent a decade with the Trail Blazers.
Sport Oregon, which manages the Oregon Sports Awards, and NBC Sports Northwest will also present University of Oregon women’s basketball head coach Kelly Graves with a Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year award. Stotts and Graves tied in the vote, which determines a winner via a cumulative scoring process. Graves is tentatively scheduled to accept his award during the July 31 edition of “The Bridge.”
Portland Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese joined Stotts and Graves as a finalist for the honor. Terry Boss (Oregon State men’s soccer), Rob Johnson (University of Oregon cross country/track and field) and Mark Parsons (Portland Thorns) were also nominated for the award.
Award criteria and past winners
2019 Oregon Sports Awards sponsors
Presenting sponsor: HP
State Champion Sponsors: NBC Sports Northwest Nike Pamplin Media Group Portland Thorns Portland Timbers Portland Trail Blazers Providence Heath and Services Washington Trust Bank
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