‘He will help us achieve our goals both on and off the court’: Cavs make Kenny Atkinson hire official with 5-year contract
Atkinson, 57, became Cleveland’s choice after a monthlong process that saw decision-makers meet with upwards of 10 candidates — over Zoom and in person. That lengthy list included fellow finalists James Borrego and Micah Nori — the only other two who received in-person interviews.
After Brooklyn posted a 20-62 record in his first season, Atkinson led the Nets to an eight-win improvement in his second season. Then in 2018-19, Atkinson guided Brooklyn to a 42-40 record and their first postseason berth since 2015. The 14-win improvement represented the third-biggest increase in wins among all NBA teams that season, and Brooklyn’s third straight season improving its win-loss record — the first time the Nets had done so in three or more consecutive seasons since 1990 to 1994.
Atkinson replaces J.B. Bickerstaff, who was fired May 23 after four-plus seasons in charge. He compiled a 170-159 regular-season record and guided Cleveland back to relevance — a coaching run that culminated with back-to-back playoff appearances and the franchise’s first series win without LeBron James in more than three decades.