Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson has won the Red Auerbach Trophy as the NBA Coach of the Year for 2024-25.
This is Atkinson’s first season coaching the Cavaliers and his fifth as an NBA head coach. It’s also his first time winning this award. He is now the third Cavaliers coach to receive this honor, after Bill Fitch (1975-76) and Mike Brown (2008-09).
With Atkinson leading, the Cavaliers ended the season 64-18, the second-best record in team history, and secured the top playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. He also tied for the fourth-most wins by a coach in his first season with a new team.
Cleveland joined the 2006-07 Dallas Mavericks as one of only two teams to have three winning streaks of 12 or more games in a single season. The Cavaliers started strong with 15 straight wins, tying for the second-best start in NBA history. They also had a team-record 16-game winning streak from February 5 to March 14.
Under Atkinson’s leadership, Cleveland set several team records, including highest scoring average (an NBA-best 121.9 points per game), best scoring margin (9.5 points per game), most road wins (30), and most three-pointers made (1,303).
Atkinson was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month twice, for October/November and December, and coached in the NBA All-Star Game for the first time.
A global panel of 100 media members voted for the 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year. The votes were counted by the firm Ernst & Young LLP.