Who says a development-first coach can’t lead a group to an NBA title?
That was the label positioned squarely on Kenny Atkinson, the previous Brooklyn Nets head coach ousted on the daybreak of the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving period at Barclays Middle. After Atkinson remodeled uncooked abilities like D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, and Joe Harris into reputable NBA contributors, Brooklyn shifted gears. Durant and Irving arrived within the blockbuster “Clean Sweep” of 2019, and Atkinson was quickly out the door, changed by the star-approved Steve Nash.
The reasoning on the time? Improvement was good, however the Nets’ brass — and their newly acquired superstars — didn’t envision Atkinson because the voice to command a championship-caliber roster.
But right here Atkinson stands now, a number of years after “mutually parting ways” with Brooklyn. This time round, he’s proving that improvement and championship aspirations aren’t mutually unique. With the Cavaliers atop the Jap Convention and poised for a deep playoff run, Atkinson has discovered the right steadiness between participant progress and playoff readiness.
Talking earlier than tipoff in opposition to the Knicks at Madison Sq. Backyard, the Cavaliers coach mirrored on his evolution since his Brooklyn tenure.
“The short answer is I’m a much better coach now,” Atkinson mentioned. “Improvement is what I leaned on closely in Brooklyn, and I felt comfy with that. However again then, I wasn’t offered with conditions like deep playoff runs or convention finals. Hopefully, I get to that stage with this group.
“You always want to graduate. Like a player, you ask yourself, ‘What’s the next step? How can I get better? How can I expand my game?’”
Atkinson’s path displays that progress. When he joined the Nets in 2016, the group improved steadily every year: 20 wins in Yr 1, 28 in Yr 2, after which a dramatic leap to 42 wins and a playoff look in Yr 3, snapping a three-year postseason drought. After including Durant (who sat out his first Brooklyn season recovering from a ruptured Achilles) and Irving, the Nets abruptly parted methods with Atkinson simply 62 video games into the subsequent season, as his voice seemingly misplaced resonance in a star-driven locker room.
However Atkinson isn’t the identical coach the Nets let go.
“I’ve definitely shifted my mindset,” he mentioned candidly. “In Brooklyn, I was more focused on development. Here in Cleveland, I’ve balanced that with greater emphasis on strategy, end-of-game situations, and understanding exactly where our team is in its evolution.”
However previous habits — significantly these rooted in his ardour — die laborious.
“I never want to lose that identity,” he added. “I still get on the court. I’m still heavily involved in player development. But there’s definitely been a shift here because of the team we have.”
After Brooklyn, Atkinson joined Tyronn Lue’s teaching workers with the Los Angeles Clippers for a season earlier than spending three fruitful years beneath Steve Kerr at Golden State, taking part in a pivotal position within the Warriors’ 2022 championship run.
Cleveland employed him final offseason after parting methods with J.B. Bickerstaff. In his debut season, Atkinson has already guided the Cavaliers to their second-highest win whole in franchise historical past, trailing solely Mike Brown’s 66-win 2009 marketing campaign with an MVP-caliber LeBron James.
Atkinson’s affect is obvious within the leap Evan Mobley, the No. 3 choose of the 2021 NBA Draft, has made. Mobley has blossomed beneath Atkinson’s steerage, rising as a number one Defensive Participant of the Yr candidate and centerpiece for Cleveland’s future.
For Atkinson, the time period “development coach” is not limiting — it’s empowering.
“All these coaches are development coaches,” Atkinson insisted. “[Miami Heat coach Erik] Spoelstra is a great development coach. [Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau] is a great development coach. Isn’t that just coaching? A huge part of our job is getting guys to improve. Rick Pitino might be the best development coach ever, but now we just call him a great coach. The great ones are always in that bucket, too.”
Now, with the playoffs looming and championship expectations hooked up, Atkinson will get his probability to show that the coach who developed groups and the coach who can win on the highest degree have been by no means separate in any respect — simply completely different phases in his personal evolution.
