Kenny Atkinson has been named the NBA’s Coach of the Year, the league announced on Monday (Twitter link).
In his first year with the Cavaliers, Atkinson led the franchise to a 64-18 record and the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Atkinson was hired by Cleveland after a three-year stint as one of Steve Kerr‘s top assistants with Golden State. Atkinson, who was also an assistant with three other NBA franchises, was Brooklyn’s head coach from 2016-20.
The Pistons‘ J.B. Bickerstaff and the Rockets’ Ime Udoka were the other finalists. Atkinson received 59 of the 100 first-place votes from the global media panel and accumulated 401 points in the voting. Bickerstaff earned 31 first-place votes and 305 points to finish second, while Udoka had seven first-place votes and 113 points.
After getting fired by the Cavs at the end of last season, Bickerstaff resurfaced in Detroit, where he led the Pistons to a stunning turnaround. Under Bickerstaff’s guidance, the Pistons improved from a franchise-worst 14 victories to 44 victories and a berth in the playoffs.
The Rockets finished second in the Western Conference with a 52-30 record, an 11-game improvement over their 2023/24 campaign.
Atkinson is the first Cavaliers coach to win the award since Mike Brown earned that distinction in 2009.
Outside of the finalists, only three other head coaches – Mark Daigneault (Thunder), Tyronn Lue (Clippers), and JJ Redick (Lakers) – showed up on Coach of the Year ballots, with Daigneault and Lue earning the remaining first-place votes. The full results can be found here.