The Cleveland Cavaliers had one of the best seasons in the league this year, and they were led by not only the group of players but also head coach Kenny Atkinson. Atkinson had the Cavs playing at a high level all season, and there’s no doubt that he should be in the running for Coach of the Year. If anything, there’s a high chance that he actually wins the award.
Before that award is given out, Atkinson was recently named the 2025 recipient of the Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award.
“The Michael H. Goldberg NBCA Coach of the Year Award recognizes the dedication, commitment, and hard work of NBA Head Coaches and is presented annually to a Head Coach who helped guide his players to a higher level of performance on-the-court and showed outstanding service and dedication to the community off-the-court,” the press release said.
“It honors the spirit of Mr. Goldberg, the esteemed long-time Executive Director of the NBCA, who set the standard for loyalty, integrity, love of the game, passionate representation, and tireless promotion of NBA coaching. The award is unique in that it is voted upon by the winners’ peers, the Head Coaches of all 30 NBA teams, the press release continued.
It is definitely well deserved for Atkinson, who helped the Cavs to their first 60-plus win season since 2009 and set a new franchise record with 30 road wins. The Cavs finished with a 64-18 record, which was a 16-game improvement from last season.
Kenny Atkinson asks Cavs an important question ahead of playoffs
Many people still are trying to convince themselves that the Cavs can make a deep playoff run with all the success they had in the regular season. Atkinson recently challenged the Cavs, and he had one question that the team needs to answer heading into the postseason.
“As far as talent, chemistry, deep bench, we have it all. It’s really going to be the mental battle,” Atkinson said. “The question that needs to be answered with this team is if they have a belief level that’s at a championship level. Do you really believe you can beat Boston? Do you really believe you can beat Indiana? Do you really believe you can be a conference finalist? That’s the first step.
“Only going to answer that when we are faced with it. That’s probably the lingering question,” Atkinson continued.
It’s obvious that the Cavs have the talent to compete, but will they be able to win the important games when it matters?
