Charlotte Hornets to hire Kenny Atkinson as new head coach, sources say

Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson has agreed to a four-year contract to become the new head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, ESPN sources told Adrian Voynarovsky on Friday.

Atkinson will replace James Borego, who was sacked in April after scoring 138-163 in his four seasons.

The Hornets narrowed their search to Atkinson and Mike D’Antoni. Both candidates have already had two meetings with management, including general manager Mitch Kupchak, and then met with owner Michael Jordan this week.

Atkinson is the second assistant coach of Golden State to leave the Warriors and take on a new team. Mike Brown was hired to coach the Sacramento Kings next season. Both remain at Golden State until the end of the NBA Finals, with Game 4 against the Boston Celtics scheduled for Friday night, and Golden State lagging behind in the best of seven of the 2-1 series.

Atkinson was 118-190 for three or more years with the Brooklyn Nets, inheriting a full recovery and showing improvement each season until he resigned after a 2019-20 injury season. He spent the 2020-21 season with the LA Clippers as an assistant before joining Steve Kerr’s team at the Golden State before moving on to the NBA Finals.

In all, he has spent nine seasons as an NBA assistant, including four with the New York Knicks, three with the Atlanta Hawks and one each with the Clippers and Warriors.

The Hornets missed the playoffs in six consecutive seasons, the longest drought in franchise history and the second longest active series since the Kings (16). But Charlotte has several building blocks in the team, which ranked 43-39 during the regular season to reach the game, including All Star LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, who will be a limited free agent.

Last season, Charlotte struggled in defense, allowing 114.9 points per game, which was tied for 25th place in the league. Atkinson has improved the Nets’ defensive effectiveness in every season of his four-year term, leading them from 23rd place in 2017 to ninth in 2020.

ESPN statistics and information contributed to this report.