Best coach Atkinson s Phoenix Panne: The Nets fire made me a better self

Like many coaches, Kenny Atkinson has suffered major setbacks in his coaching career. But it was this setback that ultimately made the honor of the NBA coach of the year in the 2024-25 season.

NBA head coach's growth path never begins with victory.

When the red carpet that welcomes you is suddenly pulled away, when the access control system of the training hall no longer recognizes you, and when you start looking for the work that has devoted your life to obtain - this is the real moment of enlightenment.

The moment the dismissal notice is delivered, you will understand:

• Whether the network you have worked hard to manage is solid and reliable

• Whether your family is willing to experience the turmoil of relocation again

• Whether the other 29 teams in the league have noticed your coaching performance in the matchup?• Whether there are still teams willing to throw out lifelines

This is also a time to look at your heart. You will ask yourself whether you still have the necessary conditions to survive in this cruel world - wisdom, resilience, and the ability to stay awake.

Every spring is the "black season" in the coaching industry, but this year's layoffs are more ruthless than in previous years. Management is not even willing to wait for a moment:

• Mike Brown, who had just renewed his contract with the Sacramento Kings until the 2026-27 season last summer, suddenly received a notice of dismissal when he was preparing to fly to Los Angeles for a away game in December.

• Taylor Jenkins was fired by the Memphis Grizzlies in March, when the team was at a critical moment in the playoffs.

• What's even more shocking is that the Denver Nuggets fired Michael Malone with only three games left to the end of the season.

• Mike Budenholzer's five-year contract with the Phoenix Suns lasted only one year.

These meritorious coaches who led the team to win the championship (Buden's 2021 Bucks and Malone's 2022 Nuggets) lost their trust in a blink of an eye. What's more ironic is that Buden's replacement Frank Vogel was unemployed twice within four years after winning the 2020 championship.

These bloody cases show that in the NBA arena, lessons often come quickly and cruelly. But if you can draw nutrients from it, setbacks will turn into motivation for a comeback. When you work harder and smarter than ever at the next stop, the honor of coach of the year may come unexpectedly.

Yes, this is the story of Kenny Atkinson. The coach who led the Cleveland Cavaliers to win 64 wins, locked in the top seeds in the Eastern Conference, and made the team one of the championships is the NBA coach of the year winner in the 2024-25 season.

"Fate is always full of drama," he sighed. "Sometimes forced to leave, the best arrangement is achieved."

The tragedy of sacking: "That blow was unforgettable"

Atkinson originally dreamed of taking root in the Brooklyn Nets for a long time - this was his first job as a head coach in the NBA. But the NBA's survival rules have always been cruel: management's patience is limited, and the ending is often unfair.

This choice should be perfect: born and raised on Changdao, he realized his long-cherished wish of "going home to coach". What else is more desirable than making achievements in front of his hometown? This should have been a classic New York inspirational story.

He has paid a lot for this: the accumulation of eight years as assistant coaches in the New York Knicks (training Jeremy Lin to set off the "Lin Crazy") and the Atlanta Hawks as assistant coaches (including the Hawks' 60-win season) has allowed him to be the one who "can be at the position at any time" among assistant coaches. Every time the head coaching position is vacant, he is at the forefront of the candidate list and is considered capable of sitting in the head coach position.

But the first head coaching position is often accompanied by difficult challenges: when he took over the Nets in 2016, he inherited the worst mess in the league - lack of talent and exhausted draft assets. The first season was 20 wins and 62 losses, and the second season only won 8 more games were expected. The

turns appear in the third season: the Nets miraculously entered the playoffs. This should have been the medal of Atkinson - he successfully cultivated the young core and prompted the management to accelerate the reconstruction of some potential stocks in trading. In the 2019-20 season, the team welcomed two superstars, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

But with 20 games left in the season, Atkinson left in disgrace with the decent statement of "both sides' consensus". This bizarre dismissal is still puzzling. The Nets lost 28 wins and 34 losses at the time, but Durant was absent from the entire process of recovering from the Achilles tendon, and Irving underwent shoulder surgery in only 20 games. After the team meeting, the management was worried about the chemical reaction between the superstar and the coach, so they finally chose to cut off their arm.

"That blow was unforgettable," Atkinson admitted, "not only hurt me, but also puts pressure on my family. Explaining the process of his father being fired to the children was extremely difficult. As a local, this sense of frustration was infinitely amplified - if it were in other cities, the trauma might be lighter."

This experience made him deeply understand that the NBA is a league dominated by superstars. Teams give superstars privileges, and coaches must learn to communicate and coordinate with these individuals with huge halos, and sometimes even compromise. Although Atkinson, who is easy-going, has strict requirements on himself and the team (he learned to compete and be tough early in the growth environment where eight brothers slept together on the bunk bed), his New York-style tough style may have friction with the personalities of some players.

Nirvana rebirth: "The right time, place and people"

After leaving Brooklyn, Atkinson chose to go to Los Angeles to join the Clippers and regroup around Tyron Lou. A year later, Steve Cole's invitation call changed everything - joining the Golden State Warriors coaching staff, the opportunity to work with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson is undeniable. In this case, it all depends on the coach’s personal status, the opportunity to choose from, and how much money they made before. I was young when I was fired in Atlanta and knew I had to keep working. But after leaving Portland, I was at different stages of my life and could be more selective about what I wanted to do next. ”

Because there are no children, freedom of movement and financial security, Stotts believes that working with Cole is a good opportunity. It is a very ideal destination. "He gives each of us a say," Stotts said. "He has a good way to manage the coaching staff." He is good at getting everyone involved, but he is also very opinionated when making decisions. He respects my opinion on basketball very much. Sometimes I think, ‘He didn’t take my advice’, but I understand because I have also been a head coach and know that it will be up to the head coach to make the decision in the end. ”

Dave Joelge

Professional Trajectory: This grassroots coach who is deeply involved in the Development League (five championships), coaches the Grizzlies and the Kings, and is currently the Bucks assistant coach. After leaving the Kings' coach in 2019, he followed Rivers to multiple teams.

Survival philosophy: He is now the Bucks' assistant coach, and followed Rivers from the 76ers to the Bucks. Jorge misses his experience with the Grizzlies the most. He started as an assistant coach and later became the head coach. During his three seasons with the Grizzlies, the team made it to the playoffs every season. He knew that the coaching profession is full of uncertainty, so he would not stay too comfortable in one place, which also allowed him to face the inevitable thing that would inevitably happen. "We live in Memphis, and there is a military base nearby," He said, “The military family is very similar to our lifestyle, so they understand us very well. When I talked to them, I said, ‘I might be with you for two or three years at most, and then I have to go to the next place. ’ We resonate with them in this kind of life of moving around. When you have to move, this can put pressure on your children, relationships. Sometimes you choose a place as the home base for your family, keeping your family there, while you go out to work for another team. This is very common. ”

When a job is over, connections become important. Joelge has a good reputation in the coaching circle, and other people's recommendations are helpful to him. "Sometimes you have to wait, take a break, and sometimes you can get your next job right away," he said. "A head coach may recommend it to another head coach through his coaching connections, 'Hey, this person can really help you. ’ This job has a good side, but it is also cruel and can put a lot of pressure on people. You must be as mentally prepared as possible. ”