Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers has been named the NBA Coach of the Year after leading the team to 64 wins and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs in his first season in the job.
Atkinson received 59 of the possible 100 first-place votes from the media panel, beating out Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff, the man he replaced, for the honor. Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka finished third.
“I stepped into this,” Atkinson said of taking over for Bickerstaff “I keep saying that, that I stepped into this. It’s a little bit of luck too, right?”
This was the best finish in the voting for each of this year’s finalists. And for Atkinson, it was a sweep: He also won the National Basketball Coaches Association’s coach of the year award, one that is separate from the official NBA award and is voted on by other head coaches.
“I almost broke down when I got that,” Atkinson said. “Like, to think [Rick] Carlisle voted for me, that [Erik] Spoelstra voted for me … that’s like the pinnacle.”
Atkinson won out in a long search the Cavaliers conducted last May and June, flying back and forth between Cleveland and France, where he was an assistant coach on the national team, for interviews. One of his primary selling points to Cavaliers front office leaders Koby Altman and Mike Gansey was how strong he thought the existing Cavaliers roster was and how he saw ways to maximize it.
Cavaliers, up and down the roster, ended up having spectacular seasons under Atkinson’s guidance. The team had three All-Stars — Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland and Evan Mobley — and developed a devastating bench rotation with reserves Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter having career seasons as well.
Atkinson’s biggest mission was unlocking Mobley, whom the Cavs saw as a key to teamwide improvement. Working with team captain Mitchell, Atkinson rearranged the team’s rotations to make sure the two played together for more minutes. He also designed sets to more challenge Mobley as a playmaker and outside shooter.
Mobley tripled his 3-pointers, averaged a career-high 18.5 points per game and in addition to his first All-Star appearance was named Defensive Player of the Year. He is a strong candidate to make his first All-NBA team alongside Mitchell.
All of this was accomplished by reducing the minutes of Mitchell, Mobley and center Jarrett Allen, each of whom played more games than a year ago.
A key to the team’s mentality was established at a training camp the Cavaliers held in Sarasota, Florida, at IMG Academy in September. Atkinson and his coaching staff used a series of methods in early practices to get the Cavaliers used to playing faster as well as various bonding techniques.
Bickerstaff, who led the Cavaliers to back-to-back playoff appearances and a first-round series win last season, was popular among players and his firing was mildly controversial. By the start of the season, however, the Cavaliers had developed excellent team chemistry as Atkinson followed through on his promise to increase the size of many of the supporting players’ roles and to reduce the workload on the stars.
The Cavaliers started the season 15-0, grasping the top seed in the East and never letting go. They would go on to have a 12-game win streak and a 16-game win streak later in the season and eventually swept the season series from 17 different opponents as Atkinson’s load-sharing system during the team into a wrecking ball in the regular season.
Then the Cavaliers swept the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs, setting an NBA record with a 122-point differential in the four games.
Last month, Atkinson’s peers voted him as the National Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year.
The last Cavaliers coach to win the NBA Coach of the Year honor was Mike Brown in 2009.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.