The Cleveland Cavaliers have hired Kenny Atkinson of Northport, New York as their new head coach according to Sean Leahy of Yahoo! Sports on Monday. This will be Atkinson’s second head coaching job in the National Basketball Association. He was previously with the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020.
While with the Nets, Atkinson posted a record of 118 wins and 190 losses in 308 regular season games. He had a winning percentage of .383. However, the firing of Atkinson by the Nets on March 7, 2020 was unexpected. At the time, the Nets were in a playoff spot and Atkinson was receiving high praise for getting the maximum from his players as Brooklyn’s top two players at the time (Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving) were out with long term injuries.
Atkinson also guided the Nets to the 2019 NBA Playoffs. Brooklyn lost the 2019 Eastern Conference first round playoff series to the Philadelphia 76ers.
In Cleveland, Atkinson is taking over from J.B. Bickerstaff of Denver, Colorado, who was fired on May 23. This past season, the Cavaliers had a record of 48 wins and 34 losses for a winning percentage of .585.
Atkinson has also spent significant time in the NBA as an assistant coach. He was with the New York Knicks from 2008 to 2012, the Atlanta Hawks from 2012 to 2016, the Los Angeles Clippers from 2016 to 2021 and the Golden State Warriors from 2021 to 2024. While with the Warriors, Atkinson won the 2022 NBA Finals. In June of 2022, the Charlotte Hornets hired Atkinson as their head coach. However, he later changed his mind and stayed on as Golden State’s assistant coach.
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