Atkinson will replace James Borego, who was sacked in April after scoring 138-163 in his four seasons with the team. The Hornets had limited their search to Atkinson and Mike D’Antoni. Both candidates have already had two meetings with management, including CEO Mitch Kupchak, and then met with owner Michael Jordan this week.
Atkinson is the second assistant coach of Golden State who is going to leave the Warriors and take over a new team. Mike Brown was hired to coach the Sacramento Kings next season. Both remain at Golden State until the end of the NBA Finals, with match 4 against the Boston Celtics set for Friday night and Golden State being left behind in the top seven with 2-1. Atkinson was 118-190 in more than three years with the Brooklyn Nets, inheriting a complete rebuild and showing improvement every season until he resigned after a 2019-20 season suffering from injuries. He spent the 2020-21 season with the LA Clippers as an assistant before joining Steve Kerr’s staff at Golden State in view of this journey to the NBA Finals. In total, he has spent nine seasons as an assistant in the NBA, including four with the New York Knicks, three with the Atlanta Hawks and one with the Clippers and Warriors. The Hornets have lost the playoffs in six consecutive seasons, the longest drought in franchise history and the second longest running streak behind the Kings (16). But Charlotte has a lot of building blocks in a team that won 43-39 during the regular season to reach the play-offs, including All-Star LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges, which is going to be a limited free agent. Last season, Charlotte struggled defensively, allowing 114.9 points per game, which tied for 25th place in the league. Atkinson improved the Nets’ defensive performance in each season of his four-year tenure, moving from 23rd in 2017 to ninth in 2020. ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.
