Re-recognized! Atkinson is elected as the best coach of the year, defeating the Rockets and Pistons coach to win the cup

On May 6, a big news came from the NBA official, and Cavaliers coach Atkinson was successfully elected as the head coach of the year in the 2024-25 season. This news was like a huge rock thrown from a calm lake, instantly causing layers of ripples, which attracted widespread attention and heated discussion in the basketball world.

Atkinson won the award this time and defeated many strong opponents. He defeated Pistons coach Bickstaff and Rockets coach Uduka, and won the trophy for the first time in his career that symbolized the head coach's supreme honor. The Best Head Coach of the Year Trophy is currently named after the legendary coach Auerbach. The league has begun this selection since the 1962-63 season. It has witnessed the glorious moments of countless excellent head coaches, and Atkinson's name is now engraved on this glorious list.

Atkinson was a popular choice in this selection. He won 59 first votes, with a total score of 401 points. By comparison, Bickstaff scored 305 points, Uduka scored 113 points, Degenot scored 41 points, Tyron Lu scored 35 points, and Redick scored 5 points. It is not difficult to see from these data that Atkinson is far ahead in the selection, and his coaching ability and performance have been widely recognized. And, this is not the first time Atkinson has received a major honor. Previously, he was also elected as the NBCA (American Coach Association) Head Coach of the Year. You should know that the Coaching Association's Coach of the Year Award is voted by the league's 30 head coaches, each coach has one vote and cannot vote for himself. This means that Atkinson has been highly recognized by his peers before he was elected as the NBA's head coach of the year, and his coaching level has been widely praised in the industry. Atkinson, 57, led the Cavaliers to a remarkable record this season. They advanced to the playoffs with an outstanding record of 64 wins and 18 losses. Looking back on last season, the Cavaliers' record was only 48 wins and 34 losses, ranking fourth in the Eastern Conference. Under Atkinson's leadership, the team won 16 more games this season, becoming the team with the best regular season record in the Eastern Conference. Such progress is as rapid as a rocket, which is amazing. In the playoffs, the Cavaliers swept the Heat with an absolute advantage of 4-0 in the first round, showing their strong strength. However, in the second round, the Pacers are currently behind the Pacers 0-1, and the game is still in full swing. Whether the Cavaliers can continue to move forward and how Atkinson will adjust their tactics have become the focus of fans' attention. Before coaching the Cavaliers, Atkinson also served as head coach for four seasons with the Nets. So far in his career, he has coached 390 regular season games, achieving 182 wins and 208 losses, with a winning rate of 46.7%. He has also coached 10 playoff games, with a record of 5 wins and 5 losses, with a winning rate of 50%. These data are the best proof of his coaching ability, and every victory is embodied in his hard work and wisdom. The two head coaches defeated by Atkinson also had excellent coaching performance this season. Pistons coach Bickstaff led the team to 44 wins and 38 losses, ranking 6th in the Eastern Conference; Rockets coach Uduka led the team to 52 wins and 30 losses, ranking 2nd in the Western Conference. They worked diligently in their respective positions and led the team to achieve excellent results, but in this selection, Atkinson stood out with his better overall performance.

In the history of the NBA, four head coaches have won this award three times, namely Larry Brown (ABA), Nelson Sr., Popovich and Pat Riley. The names of these legendary coaches are like bright stars, shining in the historical sky of the NBA. Atkinson's award this time also added a strong mark to his coaching career.

In order to give everyone a more intuitive understanding of the best coach winners in previous years, the following is an attached list of the winners of the Best Head Coach Award in the past 10 years:

2015-16 season: Warriors' Cole;

2016-17 season: Rockets' D'Anthony;

2017-18 season: Raptors' Casey;

2018-19 season: Bucks' Cloth Denholzer;

2019-20 season: Nass of the Raptors;

2020-21 season: Thibaudes of the Knicks;

2021-22 season: Monty Williams of the Suns;

2022-23 season: Mike Brown of the Kings;

2023-24 season: Dagnot of the Thunder;

2024-25 season: Atkinson of the Cavaliers.

Every head coach who won this award has his own unique coaching style and brilliant achievements. Their strategy on the field is like a conductor waving a baton on the stage, leading the team to play the music of victory. Atkinson is no exception. During the coaching process of the Cavaliers, he constantly adjusts his tactics to tap the players' potential and let the team shine with strong combat power.

In today's era of information explosion, every dynamic of sports events has attracted much attention. The news that Atkinson was elected as the best coach of the year has sparked heated discussions among netizens on social media. Everyone expressed their opinions one after another. Some netizens praised Atkinson's coaching ability and believed that he deserved it; some netizens expressed regret for the other coaches who failed to be selected, hoping that they will perform better in the future.