Five years after stepping down as the Brooklyn Nets’ lead man (despite insisting he was fired, even though the organization framed the decision as “mutual”), Kenny Atkinson is on top of the coaching world.
Atkinson, 57, led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 64-18 record—good enough for the top seed in the Eastern Conference—in his first season as a head coach since his stint in Brooklyn. Cleveland’s 16-game improvement from the 2023-24 campaign resulted in a Coach of the Year nod for Atkinson, the first accolade of his 21-year career.
The veteran coach beat out Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff and Houston’s Ime Udoka for the award.
Following his decision to step down, the Nets struggled to replace Atkinson’s leadership.
“I was a little crazy,” Atkinson said, reflecting on his time with Brooklyn to the New York Post. “I was desperate to make it. I didn’t want to fail. I really got after it, but I knew even after two years in Brooklyn, it was bad for my health. It was almost like we’re at the bottom, we’re the worst team in the league. There was a desperation to get better.”
Jacque Vaughn was tabbed as Brooklyn’s interim head coach for the remainder of the 2019-20 season before Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash was brought in to bring the franchise back to prominence. Once Nash was let go, Vaughn again took over until his firing two seasons ago. Kevin Ollie finished out the 2023-24 season, and Jordi Fernandez was ultimately brought in to coincide with Brooklyn’s rebuild.
Had the Nets still been searching for a proper head coach, Atkinson’s resurgance in Cleveland would’ve stung much more. But with Fernandez in place, Brooklyn’s fanbase can focus more on the team’s bright future rather than wondering “what could’ve been.”
“After I got fired in Brooklyn, I was like, ‘Man.’ You’re a little taken aback. And then you’re like, ‘OK, how do we turn this into how can I get better?’ And, luckily, I felt like I’ve made the right decisions,” Atkinson continued.
Half a decade later, Atkinson and the Nets are finding success—just in different ways on separate paths.
