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Cleveland Cavaliers Appoints Golden State Warriors Assistant Kenny Atkinson as Head Coach
Kenny Atkinson is set to be announced as the new head coach of Cleveland Cavaliers after JB Bickerstaff was fired.
After much deliberation, the Cleveland Cavaliers have selected their new head coach. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Eastern Conference team has decided to bring on Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson.
Wojnarowski reported that Atkinson is set to take over as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The parties are reportedly negotiating a contract that should be finalized shortly.
Atkinson is the successor to JB Bickerstaff
Atkinson now takes over for JB Bickerstaff, who was fired by the Cavaliers after they were eliminated by the Boston Celtics, the eventual NBA champions, in the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Under Bickerstaff's leadership, the Cavaliers made two trips to the postseason between the 2020–21 NBA season and the 2023–24 campaign. Despite this success, the team was unable to advance past the Eastern Conference semifinal round.
Either way, Cleveland has a new head coach—that is, a head coach once more. From 2016 until 2020, Atkinson was the Brooklyn Nets' head coach. After joining the Nets, Atkinson amassed a 118-190 coaching record. Under Atkinson, Brooklyn only once advanced to the playoffs, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in the opening round.
Atkinson’s familiarity with a few Cavaliers players
Because of his tenure with the Nets, Atkinson is acquainted with a minimum of two Cavs players. Recall that Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert were members of Atkinson's Nets before their move to Cleveland.
Following his departure from the Nets in 2020, Atkinson joined the Los Angeles Clippers as an assistant for the 2020–21 season. After that, he joined Steve Kerr as an assistant coach at the Golden State Warriors, where he helped the team win an NBA championship in 2022.
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