With the regular season now over, the focus has now shifted towards the playoffs, as well as the end of season awards, such as the MVP award and the Coach of the Year award.

For the Coach of the Year award, there are a lot of strong contenders, including the likes of Utah Jazz' Quin Snyder, Toronto Raptors' Dwayne Casey, Indiana Pacers' Nate McMillan, Philadelphia 76ers' Brett Brown, Houston Rockets' Mike D’Antoni, San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich, Boston Celtics' Brad Stevens, Portland Trail Blazers' Terry Stotts, and New Orleans Pelicans' Alvin Gentry.

In the mind of Kobe Bryant though, there is only one winner and a clear winner of that. The Lakers legend believes Jazz' Snyder should be given the Coach of the Year award this season as he thinks his work has gone unnoticed.

Bryant said to USA Today: “I've got to talk about my man Quin Snyder. The job he has done is freaking insane. It is insane. I love Quin. I always have. I've been a big Q guy forever…and the job that he has done seems like it's going under the radar, which, why, I have no idea.

“But if there was ever even a doubt as to who should be Coach of the Year, the people who are second-guessing that need to have their voting credentials removed.”

That last comment might be a bit harsh since there are a lot of strong and worthy contenders for the Coach of the Year award this season, but the Lakers legend overall makes a good point as to why the award should go to the Jazz head coach.

Bryant said: “It’s ridiculous. It’s unbelievable. The injuries to (big man Rudy Gobert), (Gordon) Hayward leaving (last summer in free agency), I mean everybody thought Utah might struggle to make the playoffs and they're the third seed in the West? I mean, are you kidding me? ‘Q’ has got to start getting the respect that he deserves as being one of the best coaches in the league - period.”

The fourth-year Jazz coach coached his team to a 48-33 record and has won 29 of his last 34 games. We'll have to wait and see if this is enough for him to win the Coach of the Year award later this year.

Listen HERE to the first episode of the new GiveMeSport NBA podcast, featuring former Cleveland Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin.

Enjoy, and please subscribe for all future episodes.