He had to make an important, game-changing decision even before he ever reached for a clipboard. New York Knicks or Golden State Warriors?

Last summer Steve Kerr, faced with a career choice, made the right call there, and then he kept making them as he went on this successful, impressive maiden voyage of coaching.

You see, that's what I kept coming back to when weighing the merits of the Coach of the Year award, given the batch of very worthy candidates. Who made the best if not the most decisions? Part of coaching, and perhaps the most important part, is about how decisions and choices help a team improve or cause it to stumble.

Kerr made decisions. The Warriors racked up a league- and franchise-best 67 wins partly because of those decisions. It doesn't get any more pure than that.

Some of the key decisions Kerr made:

Tell Andre Iguodala, a proud veteran and former All-Star, to take a seat for the betterment of Harrison Barnes? OK, done.

Sell David Lee, the highest-paid player on the team, on being a role player? Sure.

Turn Draymond Green loose and convince teammates to trust him with the ball? Well, of course.

Someone who never coached before, who replaced a coach who was held in high regard by most of the players, decided that changes were needed -- all before he ever earned the respect of the locker room. That's gutsy, bold ... and in hindsight, borderline brilliant.

It's rather obscene, when you think about it. A first-timer wound up on top of the (regular-season) basketball world, with a fun and entertaining team, with players who appear to enjoy each other and a solid chance to get a ring in June. Good luck finding a ton of others who won over 60 games while learning on the job. Yes, it is true that Kerr inherited a heap of emerging talent from Mark Jackson, and it is also true that Kerr found a way to make that talent and this team better.

Kerr brought some basics to the job. By nature, he's easygoing, witty and connects well with people. He's a communicator who sharpened those God-given skills by doing TV work. Coaching in the NBA is all about managing people by being a great salesman/ego-stroker, so he had those goods.

Kerr constantly approached his players to get their advice and he doesn't pretend to know it all. As a former role player with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs, can relate to both the superstars and the non-stars.

He was coached by Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich, and preparing for a life on the bench doesn't get much better than that -- with or without previous experience.

That's why Phil Jackson wanted him in New York last summer, why Golden State made a big play for him and why the Warriors locker room warmed up to him so quickly. A key moment came when Stephen Curry, a big Jackson backer, gave a hearty and rather quick endorsement of Kerr. Once Curry signed off, his teammates followed -- not that they needed Curry's thumbs-up to see the value in Kerr.

Right away, players began making sacrifices on demand, always a great indicator of what they think of the coach. Iguodala was the Warriors' big free-agent prize in 2013, and remains on the back end of his prime. Yet he went from starting every game in his 10-year career to coming off the bench at the request of Kerr and averaging 27.0 minutes per game (as compared to 32.7 mpg last season). Yet he didn't raise a fuss. Kerr wanted to raise Barnes' confidence by making him a starter. Barnes responded with career highs in points, field goal percentage, rebounds and 3-point percentage.

Lee, too was a starter and who took a seat under Kerr and also saw an even more significant minutes drop, from 33.2 mpg to 18.4 mpg. Kerr felt Green was a quicker option who could rebound and defend despite giving up size. He also knew Green was in a contract year and therefore would play likewise. The move has paid off as Green is a contender for the Kia Defensive Player and Kia Most Improved Player awards and may be the team's best all-around player.

Under Mark Jackson, Andrew Bogut felt underappreciated and disrespected. But Kerr knew he'd need Bogut in the playoffs and therefore made Bogut feel wanted.

But Kerr also rounded out his staff wisely, too, adding coaching veterans like Alvin Gentry and Ron Adams. Gentry, for one, has two decades of NBA coaching experience and is a great sounding board.

You could make the case that jumping from 51 wins to the high-60s is more challenging than going from lottery team to playoff team. Taking that championship-level leap requires leadership, trust and making the right calls. That's what the Warriors received from Kerr. It's a performance that would be remarkable from a veteran coach. But a rookie? Give that man an award.

The others finalists deserve a mention or two:

2. Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs: The NBA's best coach once again deserves strong consideration. The way he navigated the Spurs through this season was textbook. He often rested his starters -- which is now copycatted by coaches everywhere -- he lit a fire under the reserves and, by February, the Spurs were playing like it was June. No team is better prepared for the playoffs (and is a more feared opponent) than the Spurs.

3. Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta Hawks: Working without the advantage of a single superstar, Budenholzer sold the Hawks on selfless basketball and the results were drastic. The Hawks went from 38 wins in 2013-14 to a franchise-record 60 wins and No. 1 in the East. Along the way they beat virtually every title contender except the Spurs, and spanked some of them (Clippers, Cavaliers, Blazers) twice. The Hawks seem to enjoy finding the open man on offense and are strong defensively, meaning they buy what Coach Bud is selling.

4. Brad Stevens, Boston Celtics: The Celtics came from virtually nowhere to lock up the No. 7 playoff spot and did so without a true veteran impact player. If anything, they traded their top two players (Jeff Green, Rajon Rondo) while their third-best player, Jared Sullinger, missed roughly a month with injuries. Since February only the Cavs had a better record in the East than the Celtics, who refused to follow the example of other "transitional" teams and go into the tank. But count Rondo among those who raved about Stevens' clipboard work. That's quite a statement.

5. Frank Vogel, Indiana Pacers: Paul George was lost for all but a half-dozen games. Lance Stephenson left as a free agent. George Hill missed nearly 30 games. Indiana had nothing to play for in 2014-15, yet Vogel simply went to work and coaxed career years from role players like Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles. Vogel had 12 different starters, adding to the complexity and madness of his job. Nonetheless, despite missing the meat of their offense from last season in George, the Pacers stuck to the pure basics, ranking third in rebounds per game (34.6), fourth in points allowed (97.1) and 7th in defensive rating (100.8).

Veteran NBA writer Shaun Powell has worked for newspapers and other publications for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here or follow him on Twitter.

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