Kenny Atkinson Clinches NBA Coach of the Year Award After Leading Cavaliers to 64 Wins

Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Kenny Atkinson has had his best regular season of his young coaching career. The 57-year-old was awarded as the NBA Coach of the Year on Monday. He beat the likes of J.B. Bickerstaff and Ime Udoka who have also done great jobs for their respective teams this season.

Kenny Atkinson, though relatively new to head coaching, has made a massive first impression. The former basketball player joined the Cleveland Cavaliers this season after the management fired J.B. Bickerstaff. Kenny Atkinson left the assistant coach position at the Golden State Warriors last year.

The 57-year-old has had a whirlwind first season at the Cavaliers. He guided the side to the first position in the Eastern Conference with a record of .780. The 64 wins that Cleveland Cavaliers registered is the second most in the franchise history. Atkinson also ties as the fourth coach in the NBA history to record 64 victories in his first season.

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Cleveland Cavaliers are into the playoffs and have comfortably cleared round one. They went on to clean sweep the Miami Heat by 4-0. However, the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Semi finals were dealt a major upset as Indiana Pacers beat them at the Rocket Arena.

Media Panel Favors Kenny Atkinson Over Bickerstaff

Kenny Atkinson got 59 out of the 100 media panel votes for the Coach of the Year award. He went on to beat the likes of J.B. Bickerstaff who has turned around the fortunes of the Detroit Pistons. Ironically, it was Bickerstaff who has fired by Cavaliers to pave the way for Atkinson.

Kenny Atkinson while describing the moment said, “I stepped into this. I keep saying that, that I stepped into this. It’s a little bit of luck too, right? I almost broke down when I got that. Like, to think [Rick] Carlisle voted for me, that [Erik] Spoelstra voted for me, that’s like the pinnacle.”

The head coach last month was also voted as the National Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year. His peers recognized the impact and the work he carried out this season. The accolades continue in Cleveland, with Evan Mobley also taking home Defensive Player of the Year honors.