In his first season as coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kenny Atkinson won the 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year Award with an impressive record.

In the voting results officially announced on Monday, Atkinson won 59 first-place votes out of 100 by leading his team to a 64-18 record and the top spot in the Eastern Conference, beating his predecessor, current Detroit Pistons coach JB Bickerstaff, who received 31 first-place votes and ranked second. Rockets coach Ime Udoka ranked third with 7 first-place votes.

Atkinson, 57, took over the Cavaliers last summer after serving as an assistant coach for the Warriors for three years. He was an important think tank under Steve Kerr. His NBA head coaching resume began with the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020. This time, he can be said to have "exploded as soon as he returned to the front line."

It is worth mentioning that he succeeded Bickerstaff as the head coach of the Cavaliers. Although Bickerstaff coached in Cleveland for five years, led the team to steady progress, and made the playoffs for two consecutive years, and even entered the second round last year, the Cavaliers management still decided to change coaches to seek a breakthrough.

Atkinson's appointment quickly changed the temperament of the Cavaliers. The team won 15 consecutive games at the beginning of the season, tying the second best start in NBA history, and the overall season increased by 16 wins. In the end, it led the Celtics by three wins and secured the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The original core led by Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen was reborn under the training of the new coach.

Under his coaching, Garland regained his form and returned to the All-Star Game; Mobley became the league's best defensive player and was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time; Mitchell was selected to the All-Star Game for the sixth consecutive year.