Bio Blast of New Hornets Head Coach Kenny Atkinson

Is Kenny Atkinson the right hire for Charlotte?

Friday evening, the Charlotte Hornets agreed to a four-year deal with Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson to be the next head coach of the organization., replacing the recently fired James Borrego. 

Atkinson has worked under Mike D’Antoni in New York and Mike Budenholzer in Atlanta before finally getting a head coaching position with the Brooklyn Nets. Kenny Atkinson was a head coach for the Brooklyn Nets for four years having a record of 118-190.

So who is Kenny Atkinson and why is he considered to be one of the best assistant coaches in the NBA?

Atkinson is primarily known as a player development coach. When it comes to player development, Kenny Atkinson is the best in the business. In his first job with the Knicks Atkinson was hands-on with the development of Jeremy Lin. Atkinson transformed Jeremy Lin from an undrafted player with no hope of a long NBA Career into a nearly 15-point scorer in his sophomore season taking the league by storm in the persona of “Linsanity”. Linsanity never occurs without Kenny Atkinson working with Lin day and night. When he moved on as an assistant for the Atlanta Hawks in 2014 he had more of the same success as an assistant helping develop Kent Bazemore and Jeff Teague into key contributors for the Hawk's 60-win team in the 2014-15 season.

When Kenny Atkinson was given the opportunity to be a head coach with the Brooklyn Nets, Mike Budenholzer had high praise. “[The Nets] are in a tough spot where they don’t have draft picks. It is a tough scenario to walk into, but what they are trying to do is establish player development and a great culture and Sean Marks was in San Antonio and they are going to try to do that. Kenny is the right person for that job.” 

Atkinson helped the Nets make significant strides from becoming the laughing stock of the league after a failed super team to an exciting, young 6th seed in 2017. He played a key role in developing D’Angelo Russell, Caris Levert, Jarrett Allen, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Joe Harris. Dinwiddie averaged four points on 31% shooting through his first three seasons. In his next four years with Atkinson he improved his point average every season, going from a seven-point scorer in 2016 to averaging nearly 21 points in 2020. Joe Harris through his first two seasons averaged 2.5 points and by his 3rd season with Kenny Atkinson in 2018-19, he averaged over 13 points per game, leading the league in 3P% at 47.4%. Jarrett Allen and Caris Levert also improved every single season under Kenny Atkinson. 

The biggest development task in Atkinson's career was by far D’Angelo Russell. The former 2nd overall pick was cast off by the Lakers after a difficult two seasons. Although it wasn't a perfect relationship by enforcing accountability and discipline Atkinson helped D’Angelo Russell develop into an NBA All-Star in 2019 and most importantly a leader for a young playoff team.

Atkinson is proven to be able to turn a franchise's trajectory and help a young team make the playoffs. Atkinson could help in the development department as Charlotte oozes with young talents like James Bouknight, Kai Jones, and JT Thor. Most importantly, Atkinson could help LaMelo Ball develop into a vocal leader for this young team like D’Angelo Russell was for Brooklyn and now the Timberwolves. Charlotte could benefit from their young superstar becoming a leader as your team is only as strong as the head of the snake.

Offensively, Atkinson is a seamless fit for Charlotte. He ran a motion-based system in Brooklyn based on elements from Rick Adelman, Mike D’Antoni, and Mike Budenholzer offenses. It’s a modern positionless brand of basketball where he empowers any player to bring the ball up and initiate a “motion strong” offense. It's a fast-paced offense that prioritizes getting out quick in transition and launching a large volume of three-pointers. Brooklyn was Top-10 in pace in all four seasons that Kenny Atkinson was head coach, and was 1st in pace in his first year as head coach.

Brooklyn also ranked Top-5 in three-point attempts every season with Atkinson. He fits perfectly as Charlotte’s elite offense over the past two seasons has been built on transition points and hitting perimeter shots. P.J. Washington could look at an increased role with his size and ability to knock down shots. He can play a significant role as a floor spacer in Atkinson's pace and space offense.

Defensively, Kenny Atkinson stuck primarily to a drop coverage scheme. Atkinson focused on limiting 3-point attempts and points in the paint, forcing opponents to shoot mid-range shots. Kenny Atkinson was able to get his players to buy into this scheme as the Brooklyn Nets went from 29th in defensive rating in his first season to 10th in defense in 2019-20.

Overall, there's one question that Atkinson has yet to answer and that is can he sustain consistent playoff success? Sure, he can help a young team get to the playoffs but it's yet to be seen if Atkinson can make a team a consistent playoff contender.

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