Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson has been named the National Basketball Coaches Association’s Coach of the Year.
Atkinson took over a Cavaliers team that reached the second round of the postseason last year and led them to a 16-win improvement and the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland’s 64-18 record marks the first time the team has won 60 or more games since 2009-10 and the first ever without LeBron James on the roster.
“Kenny Atkinson has long been respected by his peers as an innovative and humble servant to the game,” Indiana Pacers coach and NBCA president Rick Carlisle said in a statement. “Congratulations to Kenny on a historic season along with this prestigious recognition by his peers.”
Other coaches receiving votes (in alphabetical order) for the honor were J.B. Bickerstaff (Pistons), Mark Daigneault (Thunder), Michael Malone (Nuggets) and Ime Udoka (Rockets).
Bickerstaff, who was replaced in Cleveland by Atkinson, led the Pistons to their first playoff appearance since 2019, more than tripling their win total from last season (14) to this season (44).
Daigneault’s Thunder romped through the regular season, going 68-14 for the league’s best record and finishing 16 games ahead of the second-place Rockets in the Western Conference.
Led by Udoka, those Rockets were a surprise this season. While the expectations were higher entering the season, Houston finishing second in the loaded West seemed unlikely. However, the Rockets are in the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Malone earned votes for Coach of the Year but was fired with three games to go in the regular season. His departure was part of an unexpectedly timed housecleaning done by Nuggets vice chairman Josh Kroenke. The winningest coach in franchise history, Malone guided the team to an eventual fourth seed in the West.
