Cavs' Atkinson wins Coach of the Year
Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers was named Coach of the Year for the 2024-25 season, the NBA announced Monday.
Atkinson received the award over J.B. Bickerstaff of the Detroit Pistons and Ime Udoka of the Houston Rockets.
| Coach | Team | 1st-place votes (5 points) | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenny Atkinson | Cavaliers | 59 | 401 |
| J.B. Bickerstaff | Pistons | 31 | 305 |
| Ime Udoka | Rockets | 7 | 113 |
| Mark Daigneault | Thunder | 2 | 41 |
| Tyronn Lue | Clippers | 1 | 35 |
| JJ Redick | Lakers | 0 | 5 |
The Cavs' bench boss took over this campaign after spending four seasons as an assistant with the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. He won a championship with the Warriors in 2022.
Atkinson guided Cleveland to a 64-18 record, good for first in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers finished the regular season with the best offensive rating (121.0) and eighth-best defensive rating (111.8).
Prior to joining the franchise, Atkinson spent just under four seasons with the Brooklyn Nets as head coach. He finished fifth in Coach of the Year voting in 2019 after leading the Nets to a 42-40 record. He stepped down in 2020 after Brooklyn posted a 28-34 record through 62 games.
The Cavaliers lost the first game of their second-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers.