Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson Named NBA Coach of the Year, Gets Confetti Shower

Kenny Atkinson was rewarded for the Cavaliers’ remarkable season, officially being named NBA Coach of the Year on Monday.

He becomes the third Cleveland coach to win the honor.

The announcement was made on TNT’s Inside the NBA pregame show, with Atkinson being interviewed by Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, and host Ernie Johnson.

Atkinson, who was at home at the time of the announcement, received a confetti shower, presumably from his family.

When Barkley asked Atkinson when he thought the Cavs might have a special season, Atkinson joked, “It wasn’t after the preseason because we were 0-4.”

His tone then became a little more serious, with Atkinson adding that he knew the Cavs could be good on the second day of training camp.

“We got off to that blazing start (15-0) and that just confirmed what we saw in training camp,” he said.

The Cavs went 64-18 under Atkinson in his first season, the first 60-plus win season in franchise history without LeBron James on the team — and just the third time it’s happened in franchise history. Cleveland also finished with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Obviously, it was the best record in franchise history for a first-year coach.

The Cavs went on winning streaks of 15, 12, and 16 games, then swept the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs. They trail their East semifinal series against the Indiana Pacers by a 1-0 count.

Atkinson beat out former Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff for the honor. Bickerstaff guided the Pistons to a quick turnaround in his first season, with Detroit winning 30 more games than last season (14-68 to 44-38 under Bickerstaff). Rockets coach Ime Udoka finished third in the voting.

Atkinson spent three seasons as an assistant under Steve Kerr with the Warriors before coming to Cleveland.

“Observing how he conducted practices and his thought processes just made me a better coach,” Atkinson told the Inside crew.