The truth hurts: Kenny Atkinson backing out of Hornets job was the right call for his future

Seeing your ex living their best life while you’re “still going through it” is always a bit of a gut punch. Although Kenny Atkinson was never officially the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, he initially agreed to be the head man before pulling out for unknown reasons.

The belief was that Atkinson had major (valid) concerns over the health of Charlotte‘s roster and that he would be walking into a difficult situation with an inexperienced team. Atkinson returned to the Golden State Warriors as Steve Kerr’s top assistant, and then eventually was named the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers last offseason. His decision to return to Golden State forced Charlotte to operate a second search and enter the draft without a head coach. They eventually hired Steve Clifford, marking his second tenure with the organization.

In his first year on the job, Atkinson led the Cavs to a 64-18 record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. In the opening round of the NBA playoffs, Cleveland made easy work of the Miami Heat, winning the series in four games. They fell in game one of the Eastern Conference semis to the Indiana Pacers, but will have a chance to even the series up tonight at home.

Earlier this week, Atkinson was named the NBA’s Coach of the Year and deservedly so. It’s rare to see a coach verbally agree to take a head coaching job and back out, but it ended up being the best decision Atkinson could’ve made. The Hornets have continued to have horrible injury luck and remained one of the worst teams in the NBA, while the Cavaliers are built to be a perennial title contender.