NBA
Who is Kenny Atkinson? What we know about the Cavalier’s new head coach
Atkinson will replace JB Bickerstaff as head coach of the Cavs, who reached the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2024.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will hire Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson as their new head coach for the 2024/25 NBA season. According to sources close to ESPN’s senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cavs are “working on a contract that’s expected to be completed soon,” which will see the 57-year-old take over from JB Bickertsaff.
Bickerstaff released despite Cavs’ improvement
In Bickerstaff’s four seasons at the helm, Cleveland qualified for the playoffs twice, improving year upon year. The Cavs didn’t make the postseason in either of his first two campaigns, and reached the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs before losing to eventual champions Boston Celtics in the Easter Conference semifinals in the most recent edition.
Despite the gradual improvement, franchise bosses hope a change at the top can help the team rediscover the success they had between 2014 and 2018, when they were Conference champions four years in a row. The new man in charge, however, will be unable to call upon anyone close to the calibre of a peak LeBron James.
What is Atkinson’s record as a head coach in the NBA?
Although Atkinson has spent most of his career working as an assistant, he is no stranger to the head coach position. After being the number two at Paris Basket Racing (France), the New York Knicks (2008-2012) and the Atlanta Hawks (2012-2016), he coached the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020, although his overall record wasn’t especially impressive.
In almost four seasons, his 118-190 record saw the Nets qualify for the postseason only once in 2019, when they were beaten by 4-1 the Philadelphia 76ers in the very first round.
After leaving Brooklyn, Atkinson went back to working as an assistant with the Clippers and Steve Kerr’s Warriors, with whom he won his first NBA Championship in 2022.
Kenny Atkinson’s playing career
The New York native had a rather interesting playing career. He tried out for several NBA teams, including in 1991, but never made it to the big time in the United States.
After spells in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and the United States Basketball League (USBL), both now defunct, Atkinson spent 11 years (1993-2004) playing professionally in Europe, turning out for teams in Italy, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.
Upon taking charge of the Cavaliers, Atkinson will link back up with center Jarrett Allen and shooting guard Caris LeVert, who he worked with while head coach of the Nets.