Kenny Atkinson is an NBA head coach once again, and the Warriors are now down two assistant coaches.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Atkinson has agreed to a four-year deal to become the next head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, replacing James Borrego.
Atkinson is the second Warriors assistant to land a head job during the Dubs’ run to the NBA Finals; associate head coach Mike Brown was named the Sacramento Kings’ new head coach last month, although both are remaining with the team through the remainder of the NBA Finals.
Golden State entered Friday’s Game 4 down 2-1 to the Celtics.
Per Woj, Atkinson and another fellow former NYC boss, ex-Knicks head coach and current WHAT Mike D’Antoni, were the two finalists for the Charlotte job, and both had already met with GM Mitch Kupchak and owner Michael Jordan this week.
Atkinson spent three-plus seasons as the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, going 118-190 from 2016-2020 before stepping down in March 2020, just before the NBA went on hiatus at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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He had spent eight seasons as an assistant with the Knicks and Hawks before taking the Brooklyn job, and spent 2020-21 as an assistant with the Clippers before joining the Warriors last summer.
Atkinson was a collegiate standout at Richmond, and after going undrafted in 1990, spent 14 seasons playing in the CBA, USBL, and several overseas leagues before becoming an assistant coach with Paris Basket Racing in the French League in 2004.
The Hornets fired Borrego in April after he went 138-163 in his four seasons in Charlotte. He did go 43-39 this past season, however, and the Hornets qualified for the Play-In Tournament by finishing tenth in the East. They lost to Atlanta in their lone play-in game, however, so their playoff drought technically is now up to six straight seasons.
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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