How Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson's season with Clippers, Tyronn Lue translates to Cavaliers

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How Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson's season with Clippers, Tyronn Lue translates to Cavaliers

Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal · Akron Beacon Journal

Mon, Mar 31, 2025 ·

7 min read

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CLEVELAND — Los Angeles Clippers forward Nicolas Batum had the inside scoop on the Cavaliers hiring Kenny Atkinson in June, and the veteran player immediately concluded it would be a good fit .

Batum signed with the Clippers early in the 2020-21 season and watched how well Atkinson operated as an assistant under LA coach Tyronn Lue , who was at the helm of Cleveland's 2016 NBA championship team.

Then Batum played for Atkinson again as a member of Team France. They took silver together in the Paris Olympics, falling 98-87 to the United States on Aug. 10 in the gold medal game.

"In France, we were training for the Olympics," Batum told the Beacon Journal on Sunday before the Cavs beat the Clippers 127-122 at Rocket Arena. "We were shooting. I'd shoot with him every morning, and then he said, 'I got the [Cleveland] job.' He told me before it broke. I got the news from him.

"I was not surprised that he got the job. I think the experience he had, the championship experience he had with the [ Golden State ] Warriors [in 2021-22], the way they played [appealed to the Cavs]."

Cleveland Cavaliers ' magic number for No. 1 seed is four

Now the Cavs are 60-15. And with seven regular-season games remaining, their magic number to secure the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference is four. Only two other teams in Cavs history have reached 60 regular-season wins (66-16 in 2008-09 and 61-21 in 2009-10). Atkinson became just the 13th coach in NBA history to earn 60 victories during his first season in charge.

"He's always been a really good coach and having a chance to come to a good team, a veteran team that has championship aspirations, he showed what he can do," Lue said.

Batum said Atkinson and Lue approach coaching in different ways, but they're both "very, very, very, very competitive."

Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during a game against the Los Angeles Clippers on March 30, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.

How Kenny Atkinson got the Cavs fired up before they beat the Clippers

The Cavs entered their rematch against the Clippers and first meeting with Lue (health issues kept him from LA's 132-119 win on March 18) with five losses in their previous eight games.

Atkinson wanted his team's attention, so he unleashed his competitive spirit.

"There was a very formal message from Kenny before the game with a lot of choice words that got us fired up," said center Jarrett Allen , who led the Cavs with 25 points and 12 rebounds against the Clippers (42-32).

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Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell explained Atkinson entered the locker room in a casual manner and talked about the NCAA Tournament before he activated intense-Kenny mode.

"He came in talking about Duke and the Final Four and s*** and then threw the water bottle at the screen," said Mitchell, who compiled 24 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and four steals, including two in the final minute of the fourth quarter to help the Cavs hang on. "It was good. He came in lighthearted, and then out of nowhere he just flipped.

"I think it was great. It's definitely needed, especially at this time of year, eight, seven games left. It's easy to kind of coast your way through, but it was definitely something to get fired up about, and that's why we appreciate him. He picks his spots and always does it the right way."

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against Los Angeles Clippers forward Nicolas Batum (33) on March 30, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Batum said connecting with players is one of Atkinson's strengths.

"He gets mad sometimes, but he doesn't overreact," Batum said. "We had some bad stretches in the Olympics. He was like, 'We'll be OK. We're going to find a solution.' And we did. [The Cavs] had a bad stretch last week. I'm pretty sure he was like, 'We'll be OK. We're going to go through that.' And they did.

"He understands the human side of every guy. He understands that a lot. As a player, you want to play with a guy [who] understands you as a person. You're not just a product or player to him. You're somebody. He's great at that, and then he's a great basketball mind as well."

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Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue argues with referee Curtis Blair (74) during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 30, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Cleveland Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson reflects on what he learned from Los Angeles Clippers coach Tyronn Lue

Atkinson improved his knowledge after spending three-plus seasons at the helm of the Brooklyn Nets and being fired by them in 2020. His strategy to work for championship-winning coaches — one season with Lue (2020-21) and three with Steve Kerr of the Warriors (2021-24) — has paid off.

"[Lue is] a great manager of players," Atkinson said. "He has a system, and he sticks with it. So the consistency of that and then his kind of playoff focus [are lessons I learned from him]. One thing I remember about Ty is, like, man, every day we practice or shoot around, we're going to have one kind of playoff-focus thing we work on. We might not use it tonight, we might not use it in a week, but, hey, this could help.

"I know I was kind of in charge of two of those days. I can remember what they were, and it's, like, yeah, sure enough, playoffs came, and we were excellent in those areas 'cause we kept on them throughout the year. And then Ty, he's a hooper. He loves the game. He's obsessed with the game. Thinks the game. I'm really, really proud of having worked for him, and he helped me become a better coach."

Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) dunks the ball against the Toronto Raptors on Feb. 12, 2025, in Toronto, Ontario.

Cavaliers welcome back Tyronn Lue, who coached their 2016 NBA championship team

With 6:52 left in the first quarter, the Cavaliers welcomed Lue back to Cleveland with a shout-out on their video boards. Cavs center Tristan Thompson greeted Lue before the game. They helped halt a nearly 52-year title drought among major Cleveland professional sports franchises on a 2015-16 Cavs team headlined by Akron native LeBron James .

"Everyone knows about the history," Thompson said. "[Lue] was a big part of it. We couldn't have won that championship without him."

Thompson has detected evidence of Lue's methods rubbing off on Atkinson.

"Kenny's learned a lot from T-Lue and Kerr," Thompson said. "I think Kenny, when he was with the Nets, he was a little bit probably more East Coast, New York-style coaching. ... Very hard-nosed, get on your ass, kind of rip you up, but from a place of love.

"Me and Kenny talked about [it]. He said T-Lue and Kerr helped him a lot just understanding players and how to get your message across the same way without maybe not being as hard-nosed."

The LA Clippers were convinced Kenny Atkinson would be a head coach again

Lue pointed out Atkinson elevated the Clippers, too, especially with player development. Lue added he knew Atkinson would receive another proverbial bite at the apple as an NBA head coach.

"I could see it from afar. [I could] always tell he is a good coach, ran good stuff, but until you have him on your staff and see what he brings on a day-to-day basis, you really don't know," Lue said. "And he's a really good coach."

Atkinson is in the running for NBA Coach of the Year, yet he predictably labeled the possibility of winning the award as "not important" and said Cleveland's goal is to advance "to a conference finals, a Finals" this spring.

Batum's view is "you never know, but there's pretty good chance" the Cavs and defending NBA champion Boston Celtics will meet in the Eastern Conference finals.

"They have dynamic-duo guards [with Mitchell and Darius Garland ]," Batum said of the Cavs. "They've got the European, FIBA, American flair. They have the perfect mix and the perfect recipe with that group of players in their prime. They're all young, and you could see they all bought in right away. You don't start 15-0 like that with a new coach [unless the players buy in].

"The two big men [Allen and forward Evan Mobley ], we played that way this summer [on Team France]. Just playing against [the Cavs], you could see every situation, they've got an answer."

So far, Atkinson has provided plenty of impressive answers.

"I just love the way he's viewing the game," Batum said. "It was just a matter of time.

"With us, we knew he was more than an assistant coach. You could see it."

Now everyone is seeing it with the Cavs.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs' Kenny Atkinson had Ty Lue, Nicolas Batum believing he'd succeed

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