Phoenix Suns reach NBA Finals
LOS ANGELES—Monty Williams wasn't named NBA Coach of the Year, but he has something more monumenta— a trip to the NBA Finals.
While Chris Paul was emotional Wednesday night after the Phoenix Suns eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers 130-103 in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, Williams was taking joy in seeing his players celebrate.
"I really enjoyed watching him and his emotions after the game. I was like, I must be getting old now because I'm enjoying watching other people," Williams said.
"It used to be about me. Now, I'm looking at everybody else having a good time and I'm like, man, I'm getting old."
Williams and Paul hugged after the game and took in the moment. Even though there were plenty of tears from Paul, there were none from Williams.
"It's just authentic. I just felt like hugging him. I think his parents were right behind us and he was emotional," Williams said. "I felt for him. I had my emotional time before the game."
Before the Suns took to the Staples Center court, Williams and assistant coach Randy Ayers were in the locker room reflecting on their journey together—five years in New Orleans and the last two in Phoenix.
"Today about 2:30, we were in the locker room. It was just Randy and I. I was like, 'Man, Randy, we're so close.' And then Randy starts telling me what he felt about me, because he's been with me since day one in New Orleans. And I broke down before the
game," Williams said.
"So I understood the emotions that Chris was dealing with. I just ran out of tears. I used all mine up about 2:30, 3 p.m. today."
While Paul's 16-year journey to his first NBA Finals will be one of the integral storylines, Williams also deserves his plaudits.
When he was named coach on May 3, 2019, the Suns had just come off a 19-63 season in which they tied for the league's second-worst record.
Two years later, Phoenix broke a 10-year playoff drought by finishing with the league's
second-best mark (51-21) in a pandemic-shortened season.
Phoenix is just the third team in the last 45 years to improve from having one of the league's two worst records to a top-two mark in two seasons or less.
The Suns eliminated the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the first round in six games, swept league MVP Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in four in the semifinals and dispatched the Clippers in six to reach the NBA Finals for the third time in franchise history."