Cavs' Kenny Atkinson Wins 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year Award over Bickerstaff, Udoka
After a historic season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kenny Atkinson has been named the NBA's Coach of the Year.
Atkinson is the first Cavaliers head coach to win the prestigious award since Mike Brown in 2009. He won the award over Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka.
Atkinson, who was named the Cavs' head coach before the season after spending the previous four years as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, led Cleveland to a 64-18 record, the second-best in franchise history.
The Cavaliers previously hadn't won more than 60 games since LeBron James' MVP campaign in 2009-10.
Cleveland got off to a historic start under Atkinson, winning its first 15 games and tying the second-best start to a season in NBA history. The Cavs ultimately cooled down a bit but remained at the top of the Eastern Conference standings the entire year.
The tremendous regular season ultimately led Cleveland to secure its first No. 1 seed in the playoffs since 2016 when it won a title.
Under Atkinson, the Cavaliers had one of the best offenses in NBA history, finishing with an offensive rating of 121.7, per NBA.com. That rating is the second-highest in NBA history, only behind the 2023-24 Boston Celtics. Cleveland was solid on the defensive end as well, posting a defensive rating of 111.8.
Cleveland was in a good place before Atkinson arrived, reaching the postseason in each of the last two years, but Atkinson took the team to the next level. Now, the Cavaliers seem capable of winning a title for the first time in years.
