Who saw this coming? Kenny Atkinson has just won the NBA Coach of the Year award, and honestly, he deserves it. He earned every bit of it.
Starting the season with zero hype and a squad folks barely talked about, Atkinson took that underdog energy and flipped the script. He turned a team full of “who’s that?” into a straight-up problem for the league. We’re talking’ gritty defense, unselfish ball movement, and straight-up heart every night.
For the first time in his career, Atkinson received the Red Auerbach Trophy, named after the legendary Boston Celtics coach.
In the voting, JB Bickerstaff of the Detroit Pistons came in second, while Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka finished third.
Under Atkinson’s leadership, the Cleveland Cavaliers ended the regular season with a 64-18 record, securing the top spot in the Eastern Conference. However, they were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs. The Pacers went on to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
References:
- https://www.eurohoops.net/tr/nba-news-tr/1821424/nbade-yilin-kocu-clevelanddan-kenny-atkinson/
- https://www.mackolik.com/basketbol/haber/nbade-sezonun-en-iyi-kocu-kenny-atkinson/fac4922a-a844-4a3f-a1ae-ed92e6f125ca#:~:text=NBA’de%202024%2D25%20normal,y%C4%B1l%C4%B1n%20ba%C5%9Fantren%C3%B6r%C3%BC%20%C3%B6d%C3%BCl%C3%BCn%C3%BCn%20sahibi%20oldu.
- pic source: https://www.fearthesword.com/2024/10/1/24259783/cavs-training-camp-notebook-kenny-atkinson-isnt-reinventing-the-wheel-cleveland-cavaliers-nba
