Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers has been named the NBA Coach of the Year after leading the team to 64 wins and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs in his first year in the job.
Atkinson received 59 of the possible 100 first-place votes from the media panel, beating out Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, the man he replaced, for the honor. Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka finished third.
“When this [job] came open … I was like ‘holy s—,’ whatever my presentation is it’s got to be the best thing I’ve ever done’,” Atkinson said recently. “This was like a must job.”
