Cavaliers Head Coach Kenny Atkinson wins NBA Coach of the Year

Atkinson led the Cavs to 64 wins and the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has been named NBA Coach of the Year according to an official league press release. A global media panel of 100 voters selected Atkinson, who guided the Cavs to 64 wins in his first season at the helm. Cleveland secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference in the process and won a franchise-record 16 games in a row from February 5th to March 14th.

Atkinson beat out former Cavaliers head coach JB Bickerstaff, who led the Detroit Pistons to a historic turnaround. The Pistons won just 14 games last season, but flipped their script by winning 44 games and making the playoffs outright. The Cavs relieved Bickerstaff of his duties last spring after they were eliminated by the eventual champion Boston Celtics in the second round.

The 57-year-old Atkinson finished with 59 first place votes, 33 second place votes, and seven third-place votes for a total of 401 points. Bickerstaff had 31 first-place votes, 44 second-place votes, and 18 third-place votes for a total of 305 points. Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka (113 points) and Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault (41 points) rounded out the top-four. Another former Cavs coach, Tyronn Lue of the Los Angeles Clippers, finished fifth with 35 points.

The Cavs put together a historic season under Atkinson’s first season in Cleveland, with three winning streaks of 12 games or more - the first time that has happened since 2006-2007. Cleveland also led the league in points per game (121.9), displaying a relentlessness that appeared absent in last year’s team.

Perhaps the biggest impact that Atkinson has had, however, is in getting the most out of his players in a way that was not seen last season. Evan Mobley, in particular, has transformed from a very good defender with a limited offensive game to dominant on both ends of the floor. Mobley improved his offense dramatically, all while maintaining elite defense. After all, he did win Defensive Player of the Year.

Atkinson joins Bill Fitch (1975-1976) and Mike Brown (2008-2009) as the only other coaches in Cavaliers history to win Coach of the Year. He also won NBA Coach of the Month twice (October/November, December) and served as head coach in the All-Star Game.