Atkinson is the first Cavaliers head coach to win the prestigious award since Mike Brown in 2009. He won the award over Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka.

Kenny Atkinson’s new team won its first 15 games and never looked back. Atkinson was always in the driver’s seat for, and eventually won, NBA Coach of the Year this season. Atkinson, 57, was the first coach in league history to win 15 games in a row at the start of a season with a new team and just the fifth to win at least 64 in his first campaign with a franchise — in this case,

Kenny Atkinson of the Cavs became the 5th coach in NBA history to win 64-plus games in his 1st season with a team. Now he's the NBA Coach of the Year.