NEW YORK (AP) — Kenny Atkinson does not get on an exercise bike to watch losses at 4:30 a.m. like he did early in his time as coach of the Brooklyn Nets. He has found that transition beneficial for his health and his win-loss record.
Atkinson returned as a head coach to Brooklyn with his new team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, on Monday. The 57-year-old, who led the Nets for four seasons, is now coaching the team with the NBA’s best record.
Atkinson, a Long Islander who was inducted into the Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame in 2020 and started his post-playing career as a Knicks assistant, was hired by the Nets in 2016. They went 48-116 in his first two seasons, which fed his early-morning workouts and desire to prove he belonged.
“I was a little crazy,” Atkinson said before Monday night's game. “I was desperate to make it. I didn’t want to fail. I really got after it, but I knew even after two years in Brooklyn, it was bad for my health.
“It was almost like we’re at the bottom. We’re the worst team in the league. There was a desperation to get better.”
The Nets improved, going 42-40 and reaching the postseason in his third season, but Atkinson was let go during the 2019-20 season.
He spent the next four seasons as an assistant, one with the Los Angeles Clippers and three with Golden State, winning an NBA title in 2022 alongside Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
“The journey after Brooklyn really helped me grow as a coach,” Atkinson said. “But I will tell you I’m competitive, and when you have setbacks, you remember things, right? … You’re motivated to prove people wrong.”
Atkinson said he has started delegating more responsibility to his assistants, and his coaching evolution has clearly benefited the Cavaliers. Atkinson and the Cavs won their first 15 games, the most in NBA history for a coach with a new team, and they have not stopped winning, sitting ahead of the defending champion Boston Celtics atop the Eastern Conference.
The Cavs' Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert played for Atkinson in Brooklyn and have seen his evolution.
“I yell at (LeVert) every once in a while just to keep him on his toes,” Atkinson joked. “I do feel freedom to coach those guys harder ... because that’s how they want to be coached.”
Atkinson’s return brought back fond memories of basketball-mad New York City.
“It’s a great basketball city. Brooklyn breathes basketball,” Atkinson said. “You walk into a deli, or you walk into a pizza joint, and people know the game and they love the game.”
This story has been updated to correct that Atkinson was let go during the 2019-20 season.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson gestures in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — The big surprise of the World Cup slalom season scored his second win Sunday adding to his fast-rising reputation before the Winter Olympics.
Paco Rassat raced to the fastest time in the second run to rise from fourth place, and push two Norwegians down the podium steps after they had been fastest in the morning run.
United States-born Atle Lie McGrath was edged out by 0.18 seconds and first-run leader Henrik Kristoffersen dropped to third, trailing 0.20 behind Rassat.
The 27-year-old Frenchman had a career-best result of ninth in World Cup races before this Olympic season started.
Rassat now has two wins, a third place and two sixth places this season and shapes as a medal contender for the Milano Cortina Olympics. The men’s slalom is on Feb. 16 at Bormio.
“To win on this crazy hill at Adelboden, It’s something really unbelievable," Rassat told Swiss broadcaster RTS, describing his season as “a magnificent surprise.”
Rassat also took the lead in the seasonlong World Cup slalom standings, ahead of his France teammate Clément Noël, the defending Olympic champion. Noël tied for eighth Sunday.
McGrath was runner-up in the Adelboden slalom for the third time in four years.
“It’s kind of crazy,” said McGrath, whose father Felix skied for the U.S. at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. “I’m of course super happy, it’s such a challenging slope and mentally it’s one of the toughest places to perform because of this amazing crowd.”
Another packed finish-area crowd at Adelboden observed a minute’s silence before racing for the victims of the fatal fire in a bar in nearby Crans-Montana on New Year’s Day. Crans-Montana hosts men’s and women’s World Cup races in three weeks’ time.
The World Cup overall standings leader, four-time title holder Marco Odermatt, does not ski slalom and his huge lead was cut a little by Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who placed fourth. Pinheiro Braathen was second to Odermatt in the classic giant slalom Saturday.
The men’s World Cup circuit stays in central Switzerland for the storied Lauberhorn meeting at Wengen, for a super-G on Friday, the classic downhill Saturday and a slalom Sunday.
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
France's Paco Rassat speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
France's Paco Rassat reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Finland's Eduard Hallberg speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen ahead of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
