The Cavaliers are sticking with Kenny Atkinson.
Despite an ugly sweep at the hands of the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals, the franchise is bringing its head coach back next season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Atkinson, who has been the head coach in Cleveland for the last two seasons, guided the Cavaliers back to the conference finals this year for the first time in eight years before their postseason run came to a screeching halt against the NBA Finals-bound Knicks.
A year ago, Cleveland went a franchise-best 64-18 during the regular season and earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, helping Atkinson with the NBA Coach of the Year award in his first season.
The Cavaliers’ playoff run would be cut short after falling to the eventual East champion Pacers in the semifinals.
Cleveland took a step back record-wise during the regular season, but entered the postseason with championship ambitions after a blockbuster trade for James Harden before the trade deadline that sent young point guard Darius Garland and a 2026 second-round pick to the Clippers.
A few bizarre incidents during the sweep at the hands of the Knicks had some assuming Atkinson would be on his way out.
In Game 1, Atkinson called just one timeout while the Knicks went on a 30-8 run in the fourth quarter before eventually winning in overtime.
He later explained to reporters that he likes to “hold my timeouts.”
After his team went down 3-0 in the series, Atkinson claimed that the Cavs were “analytically” winning the series.
“I think analytically, we’ve won two out of three in the expected score,” Atkinson said.
“I don’t know if you guys follow that, the expected score. And I know you’re looking confused.”
It likely helped Atkinsons’ cause that his star players had his back.
Harden backed up Atkinson after the Game 4 loss Monday, calling him the “ultimate players’ coach.”
“He understands his team,” Harden said. “Of course, somebody’s going to have to take criticism, whether it’s myself or Kenny or whoever, the entire team. They’re going to put it on somebody.
“But I think for Kenny, he did an unbelievable job of getting me acclimated as fast as possible to understanding what I’m supposed to be doing out there. It’s just an unfortunate situation. Any team coming off of a tough, two series against two defensive monsters, it would have been challenging.”
Donovan Mitchell echoed the same sentiment.
“We’ve done something that we haven’t done since 2018,” Mitchell said Monday night. “I love Kenny. We love Kenny. We ride with Kenny, and ultimately that’s all that matters.”
