The Charlotte Hornets are hiring Kenny Atkinson to replace James Borego as their head coach, according to Shams Charania. Borego met with representatives of the Hornets on Wednesday – including owner Michael Jordan – and then struck a deal. Former Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni was also considered a finalist for the Hornets. Atkinson’s deal will last four years, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
Atkinson, who entered the league under Mike Budenholzer, made his name as the Brooklyn Nets’ head coach from 2016-2020. He took on a team with almost no project capital or current talent and helped them build into a playoff team. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were so impressed with Brooklyn’s recovery that they decided to join the Nets as free agents in 2019. However, this proved disastrous for Atkinson, as he failed to build a strong bond with his new veterans in he was eventually fired in the middle of the 2019-20 season.
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Atkinson is considered one of the best talent developers in the NBA. His experience at almost every stop supports this idea. In Brooklyn, he helped turn Caris Levert, Spencer Dinuidi and D’Angelo Russell into three of the best young guards in basketball. He then joined the Los Angeles Clippers as an assistant, and Terrance Mann grew into one of the breakthrough players of the post-2021 season under his supervision. He spent this season with the Golden State Warriors and it is no coincidence that young players such as Jonathan Cuminga, Moses Moody and Gary Peyton II thrive with him in the building.
The Hornets have one of the younger NBA teams and now Atkinson will have the task of helping him grow into a playoff team. Borego could not do so largely due to the team’s problems in defense. Charlotte never had a high-class starting center during Borego’s tenure, and finding one for Atkinson will be a priority going forward. The Hornets lost in the playoffs in consecutive seasons. Atkinson is currently coaching the finals and the Hornets are hoping he can bring some of that winning momentum with him to Charlotte when he takes over next season.
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