CLEVELAND, Ohio — ‘Tis the season for shameless awards shilling, and Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson has the floor.
Upon arriving in Cleveland this season, Atkinson unleashed the league’s top offense and upgraded the East’s winningest team. He unlocked the best versions of All-Star forward Evan Mobley, All-Star guard Darius Garland and [Sixth Man of the Year candidate Ty Jerome](https://www.cleveland.com/sports/2025/03/cavs-guard-ty-jerome-can-save-the-spirit-of-this-misguided-nba-award-jimmy-watkins.html) (to name a few).
According to betting markets, Atkinson should be voted Coach of the Year by season’s end. Good thing they didn’t ask him. To hear Atkinson tell it, Cleveland’s first 60-win season without LeBron James has little to do with the man in charge.
“I’d say minimal,” Atkinson said Sunday. “I’m serious. I think roster construction is the main (reason we are succeeding). When you get to this kind of level ... I mean, (Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman) has done a magnificent job. He’s not up here at the podium, so the coaches get the credit, the players (get the credit). But how balanced we are, the character we have on this team, the leadership we have, how we built out the bench, (how we) combined shooting with the two big guys, drafting Darius, you just go on and on.
“Dean Wade. How does, all of a sudden, this guy become a major rotation player on a 60-win team? That’s all (roster building). And I’m a little bit fortunate, right? A lot of it, to step into this at the time I did, I really believe that’s kind of the story here.”
I believe two narratives can be true. First, Altman deserves a mountain of credit (column coming soon) for the roster he has assembled and maintained over the last three seasons, down to the Dean Wade-esque diamonds he mines (Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill) from the deepest ends of the talent pool.
But second, Altman’s diamonds didn’t shine this bright until Atkinson arrived. Before his hiring, Mobley lacked confidence in his jump shot. Cleveland’s offense cramped up amid crowded driving lanes. And after last season’s playoff loss against Boston, many assumed Altman’s roster-building masterpiece needed a makeover.
Instead, he retained the top 10 rotation players (though Altman later traded Georges Niang and Caris LeVert) from last year. The Cavs made one significant change: Head coach. And 60 wins later, that move has transformed the franchise.
Here again, Atkinson would roll his eyes. In his mind, any tweaks — not changes — he made were minor. Shortening stars’ minutes, increasing Mobley’s involvement, digging deeper into his bench? Hardly revelations. Frankly, Atkinson hesitates to call them coaching decisions.
Final Four leaders like Auburn’s Bruce Pearl or Houston’s Kelvin Sampson? “Those guys are in it, they’re coaching,” Atkinson said. Whereas pro teams who barely practice need more of a “manager” than a man in charge.
Then again, star guard Donovan Mitchell views Atkinson’s work through a deeper lens. Coaching NBA players is “tougher,” in Mitchell’s view, than coaching college ball because “we’re all grown men.”
Coach too hard? Micromanage possessions? “... That can become tiresome to hear,” Mitchell said Tuesday.
But allow too much lenience, you lose control.
“You can also be too relaxed,” Mitchell continued. “Just let things free fall and let the chips fall where they may. It’s very unique.”
Somewhere between both extremes, you’ll find Atkinson’s knack for reading locker rooms. Before Sunday’s win against the Clippers, he reminded Mitchell of the star’s old college coach, Rick Pitino. Atkinson threw a water bottle, then reminded his team how badly the Clippers embarrassed them 12 days earlier: Outrebounded by 20, outhustled too often, expletive, expletive, expletive.
Risky move in the pros, but players responded. The Cavs won 127-122 and, most importantly, outrebounded Los Angeles by one. Call it coaching, managing, whatever. It worked.
“We’ve seen it from the beginning. He’s a guy that really has a great feel of everybody in the locker room,” Mitchell said. “That’s what you’re seeing. A lot of guys have had career years. A lot of guys have taken steps forward that we all knew they could.
“... A lot of that is, obviously, we’ve all individually put the work in and sacrificed. But also, Kenny has challenged us. Kenny has empowered guys to go out there and be their best selves. And then also when we’re not our best selves, (he is) coming in there, throwing the water bottle at the wall and lighting a spark when needed.”
Two days later, Atkinson relented when players wanted to wrap practice early. And by “wanted,” I mean “decided.”
The coach had other plans, but his players were tired. So they started forming their post-practice huddle, and he scrapped the next drill.
“... This is the NBA, man,” Atkinson said. “Like, (if) they call that we’re bringing it in, we’ll try to do our side out of bounds and under (the basket) out of bounds stuff tomorrow.”
Again, is this coaching? Teaching? Scheming? Literally, no. But here in the pros, empowering players is part of the job, too. Ask Mobley, whose first All-Star season sprouted from Atkinson’s plan to increase the big man’s touches. Ask Mitchell, who has never played fewer minutes or won more games than he has this season, about Atkinson’s management skills.
Or, if you’re really curious about a coach, ask the player whose minutes he’s cutting. With seven games to play, forward Isaac Okoro has never played less (18.7 minutes per game) scored less (5.8 points per game) or attempted fewer field goals (4.6 field goals per game) in his career. You won’t find many players more (theoretically) incentivized to co-sign Atkinson’s deflection of credit.
“Coach of the Year is a product of roster construction and talent,” the coach said.
Maybe so. But small tweaks or big, hard coaching or none, Atkinson changed these Cavs for the better, if not into the league’s best team. He won’t admit it, but he doesn’t have to.
‘Cause even demoted players love the new boss.
“If you look at how we played last year, this year, offensively and defensively, it’s different,” Okoro said. “The way the ball is moving, the way each and every guy on the team is playing better than they did last year. That’s because of him.
“He came in here with the mindset to change our offense and the way we’ve been playing. Now we’ve got more wins than we did last year. The ball is moving, the pace is different, the energy — everything’s different."