Hornets Hire Kenny Atkinson As Next Head Coach

After a tedious hiring process, Kenny Atkinson has emerged as the next head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.

The Charlotte Hornets are closing in on Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson as the franchise’s next head coach, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 10, 2022

Previous reports indicated that the Hornets were down to Atkinson and former Houston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni.

Ultimately, it seems like Michael Jordan liked Atkinson's vision for the team more.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Charlotte reportedly signed Atkinson to a four-year contract.

Atkinson currently serves as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, who are battling in the 2022 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. Prior to that, he was an assistant under L.A. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue.

Atkinson's last head coaching gig came with the Brooklyn Nets. He made his head coaching debut in October 2016 and led the Nets to a postseason run in 2019. He stepped down from his position in March 2020 due to reportedly not seeing eye-to-eye with Nets stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

Now, the 55-year-old will get to coach one of the league's fast-rising stars in LaMelo Ball. It should be interesting how Atkinson can unlock another dimension of the 2020-21 Rookie of the Year's game.

Atkinson will look to lead Charlotte to a playoff berth for the first time since 2016. The Hornets have lost in the play-in tournament the last couple of seasons.