David Blatt steered Cleveland Cavaliers into the NBA final after a 4-0 whitewash in the seven-game Eastern Conference final series over the Atlanta Hawks.
The Cavaliers will play the Golden State Warriors or the Houston Rockets in the seven-game series final, which begins on June 4.
Blatt said: “This team makes me think of John Wayne’s True Grit, to be honest with you. The guys are gritty. They’re not going to give in to anything. That’s to our credit, to our players’ credit.”
Blatt, who is from Israel, was appointed coach at the start of the season after winning the European Cup last year with Maccabi Tel Aviv.