In a season that saw the Cleveland Cavaliers rise from Eastern Conference contenders to legitimate championship threats, Kenny Atkinson has been honored as the 2025 recipient of the Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award. The accolade, voted on exclusively by his coaching peers, recognizes the remarkable work Atkinson has done in his first season at the helm of the Cavaliers.
Atkinson took over a Cavaliers squad that had finished fourth in the East the previous year with a 48-34 record. Under his guidance, the team exploded to a league-best 64-18 mark in the Eastern Conference, a 16-game improvement and their first 60-win campaign since the LeBron James-led 2009–10 season.
Atkinson not only revived the Cavaliers’ offense but completely reinvented it, crafting one of the most efficient and high-octane attacks in modern NBA history.
The Cavs finished first in offensive rating (121.0), points per game (121.9), effective field goal percentage (57.8), and true shooting percentage (60.7). They also ranked second in field goal percentage (49.1), three-point shooting (38.3%), and threes made per game (15.9), while boasting a league-best 30 road wins.
These offensive achievements were matched by their dominant consistency, including three double-digit win streaks (16, 15, and 12 games), making them just the second team in NBA history to post three separate 12+ game winning streaks in a single season.
Despite fierce competition, Atkinson’s impact on the Cavaliers was undeniable. He transformed a team that had offensive talent but lacked identity into the league’s most efficient machine.
While his offensive schemes garnered headlines, Atkinson’s locker room leadership was equally important. The Cavaliers bought into his system early, opening the season with a perfect 15-0 start, an unprecedented feat for a coach debuting with a new franchise.
Coach Atkinson was twice named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month and was selected to lead the East’s coaching staff during the 2025 All-Star Game. The NBCA praised him not only for his basketball acumen but also for his integrity, humility, and service to the community, qualities that reflect the spirit of the award’s namesake, Michael H. Goldberg.
With Atkinson at the helm, the Cavaliers now enter the playoffs not just as a formidable team, but as perhaps the biggest threat to stop the Boston Celtics from repeating as champions.
While the NBA’s official Coach of the Year award will be announced later in the postseason, there’s little doubt that Atkinson’s peers have spoken: 2025 belongs to the coach who orchestrated Cleveland’s historic rise.
