Cavaliers Coach Receives High Expectations From NBA General Managers

A recent survey indicates that NBA GMs believe Cleveland's Kenny Atkinson will make a strong impact on the Cavaliers this season.

Oct 10, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts in the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

One week from Wednesday, the Cleveland Cavaliers are set to begin their 2024-25 regular season with a road contest against the Toronto Raptors.

But Cleveland still has two preseason games remaining before head coach Kenny Atkinson makes his regular season debut at the helm of the Cavaliers.

While most of the Wine and Gold's roster remains the same from last year, the NBA believes that its new head coach will make a strong impact on the team this season.

Back on October 8, the 2024-25 NBA.com GM Survey gave Atkinson 20% of the votes for which new or relocated head coach will make the biggest impact on his new team. Atkinson was tied for the second-most votes for this category with former Cleveland Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who was hired by the Detroit Pistons this offseason.

The https://t.co/HlMoojsR2Z GM Survey revealed some high expectations for our guys. 👀 #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/YzxZvnKytw

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) October 15, 2024

Cleveland has steadily improved over the past three years, reaching the NBA Play-In Tournament in 2021-22, the first round of the NBA Playoffs in 2022-23, and the Eastern Conference Semifinals a season ago for the first time since 2017-18.

Oct 10, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts in the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

Atkinson is no stranger to the NBA Playoffs as a head coach, as he guided the Brooklyn Nets to the postseason during the 2018-19 campaign and finished fifth in the NBA Coach of the Year voting that season.

The 57-year-old was not the only member of the Cavaliers to receive recognition in the 2024-25 NBA.com GM Survey. Evan Mobley was tied for the second-most votes for which player is most likely to have a breakout season.

With the regular season right around the corner, Cavaliers fans will hope that Atkinson can indeed make a strong impact in his first campaign with the team and help lead them to a deep playoff run.