Report: Kenny Atkinson is ‘loved’ by players and coaches

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson is “loved” by players and coaches, according to Cleveland.com’s Terry Pluto.

“I believed Atkinson would get the job and kept writing that as the rumors swirled,” Pluto wrote. “I knew [Koby] Altman was looking for a coach to refine the offense with more movement and pace. Atkinson is loved by players and coaches. He enhanced his communication skills with players while working for [Steve] Kerr.”

The Cavs hired Atkinson in the offseason after moving on from J.B. Bickerstaff. The Cavs had reached the playoffs in back-to-back seasons under Bickerstaff, but it wasn’t enough for Cleveland to keep him.

Now, it appears that the Cavs’ decision to hire Atkinson was a brilliant move.

Cleveland won its first 15 games of the 2024-25 season before losing to the Boston Celtics in an NBA Cup matchup on Tuesday night. The Cavs bounced back and won their next game, putting them at 16-1 on the season.

They’re currently the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and Atkinson has been able to get more out of the core of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley so far this season.

Cleveland made major bets on those core four players, as it extended the contracts of Mitchell, Mobley and Allen in the offseason.

The Cavs have clearly taken to Atkinson’s coaching style, and it has set them up in a good spot to make a deep playoff run this season.

Cleveland earned the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference in each of the last two completed seasons, but it only won one playoff series. That win came last season against the Orlando Magic in the first round, but Cleveland was quickly eliminated from the playoffs by the Celtics in the second round, losing in five games.

Earlier this month, three of Atkinson’s keys for the Cavs were leaked, and it’s clear that what he planned on doing is working so far.

The Cavs will look to keep their hot start going on Sunday when they take on the Toronto Raptors. That game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. EST in Cleveland.