The Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson has been appointed coach of the National Association of Basketball Trainers.
Atkinson took over a team of the Cavaliers that reached the second round of the postseason last year and led them to an improvement of 16 victories and the best seed at the Eastern Conference. Cleveland’s 64-18 record marks the first time the team won 60 or more games since 2009-10 and the first without LeBron James on the list.
“Kenny Atkinson has been respected for a long time by his teammates as an innovative and humble server of the game,” said Indiana Pacers coach and president of the NBCA, Rick Carlisle, in a statement. “Congratulations to Kenny for a historical season along with this prestigious recognition of his teammates.”
Other coaches who received votes (in alphabetical order) for honor were JB BickerStaff (Pistons), Mark Daigneault (Thunder), Michael Malone (Nuggets) and IME UDOKA (Rockets).
BickerStaff, who was replaced in Cleveland by Atkinson, took the Pistons to their first appearance in the playoffs since 2019, rather than tripling its total victories since last season (14) until this season (44).
The Daigneault Thunder was overcome during the regular season, with 68-14 for the best record of the League and ending 16 games before the second place rocks at the West Conference.
Directed by UDOKA, those rockets were a surprise this season. While expectations were higher in the season, Houston ended second in the western loaded seemed unlikely. However, the rockets are in the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Malone obtained votes for the coach of the year, but was fired with three games to go in the regular season. His departure was part of an unexpected cleaning of the house made by Nuggets vice president, Josh Kroenke. The most winning coach in the history of the franchise, Malone guided the team to a fourth eventual seed in the West.
