Kenneth Neil Atkinson (born June 2, 1967) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). He was previously the head coach of the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. T ...

from 2016 to 2020. Atkinson was born in

Huntington, New York The Town of Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York. Founded in 1653, it is located on the North Shore (Long Island), north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Lo ...

and played college basketball for

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

leading the Spiders to a Sweet Sixteen berth in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 1988.

Playing career

Atkinson averaged 18.9 points per game during his senior season at Richmond and played professionally in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands from 1993 to 2004. He had tryouts with several NBA teams including the Knicks in summer of 1991. He was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.

NBA coaching career

Atkinson joined the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

coaching staff as an assistant coach under Mike D'Antoni on August 6, 2008. In 2012 after four seasons with the Knicks, he joined the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

coaching staff under Mike Budenholzer. On April 17, 2016, it was announced that Atkinson become the head coach of the

after the Hawks' season ended.

Brooklyn Nets (2016–2020)

Atkinson made his NBA head coaching debut on October 26, 2016, in a 122–117 loss to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of ...

. He got his first win as an NBA head coach two days later when the Nets defeated the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first est ...

103–94. The Nets finished the season with a 20–62 record, with a 0–10 record in February 2017. Brook Lopez left the team in Atkinson's second season; Lopez was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in an off-season deal. The Nets were competitive for the early part of the season before going 1-9 in February, ending any chance to be in the playoffs. They finished the season with a 28–54 record, which was an eight-game improvement from the previous season. In Atkinson's third season with the Nets he led the team to a 42–40 record, winning 14 games more than the previous season, and a playoff berth with the sixth seed. The Nets lost to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

in five games in the first round of the playoffs. Atkinson stepped down as head coach of the Nets on March 7, 2020.

Los Angeles Clippers (2020–2021)

On November 16, 2020, Atkinson was hired as an assistant coach for the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

under head coach

Tyronn Lue Tyronn Jamar Lue (pronounced ''Ta-RON LEW''; born May 3, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He formerly served as t ...

Golden State Warriors (2021–present)

On August 13, 2021, the

hired Atkinson as an assistant coach. He won his first NBA championship as the Warriors defeated the

in six games in the

2022 NBA Finals The 2022 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2021–22 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Conference champion Golden State Warr ...

. During the NBA Finals the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...

offered Atkinson the position of head coach, but he reportedly turned it down after winning the championship.

Head coaching record

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Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

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Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

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References

External links

NBA.com Profile

Profile
at Eurobasket.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Kenny 1967 births Living people People from Huntington, New York People from Northport, New York Amsterdam Basketball players ALM Évreux Basket players American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York (state) Brooklyn Nets head coaches Golden State Warriors assistant coaches Dutch Basketball League players FC Mulhouse Basket players Liga ACB players Montpellier Paillade Basket players New York Knicks assistant coaches Partenope Napoli Basket players Point guards Richmond Spiders men's basketball players Sportspeople from Suffolk County, New York Wichita Falls Texans players