Bill Laimbeer is the WNBA coach of the year the league announced Thursday.

He guided New York to a franchise record 23 wins and the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs for the first time. It's the second time in his career that Laimbeer earned the award, also winning it in 2003 when he was coaching Detroit.

Laimbeer is the fourth coach to win the award at least twice. Van Chancellor won it in the league's first three years. Mike Thibault was also honored three times and Dan Hughes twice.

The Liberty's coach received 23 votes from a national panel of 39 sportswriters and broadcasters. Indiana coach Stephanie White finished second with seven votes and Tulsa's Fred Williams was third with six.

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