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NBA Coach of Year favorite Kenny Atkinson is a fascinating Cleveland Cavs boss | Ulrich
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- NBA Coach of Year favorite Kenny Atkinson is a fascinating Cleveland Cavs boss | Ulrich
CLEVELAND — Kenny Atkinson is on track toward becoming a slam dunk for NBA Coach of the Year.
And the new Cavaliers coach is already the most interesting man in Cleveland sports .
Hours before the Cavs pummeled the hapless Washington Wizards 118-87 on Tuesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse , the NBA announced Atkinson had been named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for games played in October and November.
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With the Cavs a league-best 19-3 entering their Thursday night home game against the 11-8 Denver Nuggets , Atkinson is an overwhelming front-runner to land the league's coveted season-long coaching award in the spring.
When the Cavs fired J.B. Bickerstaff in May and hired Atkinson in June , the franchise gambled it could improve from good to great with a coaching change.
Playoff results will provide the final verdict, yet a historic start this season points to Atkinson being the upgrade president of basketball operations Koby Altman and chairman Dan Gilbert sought.
Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson yells to his players during the first quarter against the Boston Celtics on Dec. 01, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.
So far, expectations have been shattered. Although the Cavs are no longer the elite defensive force they had been under Bickerstaff, they were still ranked 11th in the NBA through Tuesday with 111.3 points allowed per game and tied for ninth in defensive rating at 110.4. On offense, Cleveland is so much better it's now among the best in the league, ranking first in points per game with 121.8 and second in offensive rating at 120.5.
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The 57-year-old Atkinson isn't willing to take credit, though, at least not much.
"This is a roster that's talented, that has great continuity and it's together, and it's really what it comes down to," he said. "It's 99% that and 1% coaching."
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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) talks to coach Kenny Atkinson during the third quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 30, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Atkinson has the Cavs playing faster with better spacing and shooting more 3-pointers. However, empowering players, instilling confidence and building relationships with them are what he views as his primary calling cards, not strategies or schemes.
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When the Cavs gave Atkinson a scoreboard shout-out Tuesday night for his Coach of the Month honor, he received a huge ovation and laughed after he took a towel to the head amid the hoopla near the home team's bench.
The Cavs' success through roughly a quarter of the season has shined a spotlight on Atkinson, though his personality is what makes him so fascinating.
Stephen Vogt of the Guardians recently won AL Manager of the Year, and Kevin Stefanski of the Browns captured NFL Coach of the Year awards for the 2020 and 2023 seasons.
Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during the first half against the Chicago Bulls on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Cleveland.
Neither one of them is nearly as entertaining as Atkinson, a certified quote machine.
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By professional sports coach standards, he is unusually open with the media. He admits when something surprises him. He volunteers brutally honest assessments — one time he assigned a letter grade to the defense without being asked for one. He even says he reads what reporters have written. He seems to fully grasp the value of communicating to the fan base, and it's refreshing.
He's also an exercise enthusiast who has a hard time sitting still, and the former University of Richmond point guard is no stranger to joining players on the court during workouts. He frequently uses other sports, mainly football, to draw comparisons and create analogies pertinent to the Cavs. A New York native, he grew up a Jets, Mets and Islanders loyalist.
He's a Bruce Springsteen fan, and his many years playing professional basketball overseas helped him learn how to speak French, Spanish and Italian.
"If you don't assimilate, you're not going to last," he explained.
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr reacts with assistant Kenny Atkinson after a technical foul during a game against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 25, 2022, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Atkinson has taken the concept and run with it when it comes to the NBA's widespread use of analytics. It's nothing new in sports and certainly not revolutionary in pro basketball, but Atkinson is advanced in the field. Atkinson's former boss, Golden State coach Steve Kerr, credited Atkinson with schooling him on analytics and uniting the Warriors' coaching staff with their research department.
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Cavs players are buying in and benefitting.
"He knows how to read all the analytics and transfer them into the court, transform into teaching us how we can attack different ways and build our offensive or defensive rating," forward Evan Mobley said. "I feel like he does a great job of reading it and not confusing us with the numbers and translating it so it's pretty simple."
If the Cavs keep winning, Atkinson will continue to be recognized and become increasingly interesting to their fans.
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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson is on track for NBA Coach of Year
