CLEVELAND — In his first game as a head coach against the Nets team that fired him — and yes, Brooklyn fired him — Kenny Atkinson admitted there was a little extra incentive, extra emotion, and just plain extra.
A night after leading Cleveland to a win over Golden State — where he had won a championship as an assistant — and a league-best unbeaten record, Atkinson guided his team to 11-0 with a 105-100 win over the Nets franchise that canned him in 2020.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s always … it’s unique,” Atkinson said Saturday. “The Warriors, that was a unique game. This is a [special] back-to-back. But you’re a competitor, right? And even [Friday], I was like, ‘Man, I wanted that game,’ because you had such great experience with the team you were with, but you also want to beat them.
“And it’s the same with the Nets. Wonderful experience I had, but there’s always something, a little something extra when you’ve been with a team before. A little more awareness, a little more tension, a little more … you want it a little more.”
Atkinson — a Long Island native — was with the Nets for parts of four seasons from 2016 through 2020.
The Huntington native took over the worst team in the NBA and guided them into the playoffs — with current Cavaliers Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert on the roster — before having the rug pulled out from under him.
With Kevin Durant missing 2019-20 recovering from a torn Achilles and Kyrie Irving in and out of the lineup, the Nets went through some predictable struggles that season.
After Atkinson called a postgame meeting, Durant — who wasn’t playing — spent much of it ripping the state of the team.
The lack of backing from the stars prompted Atkinson’s ouster.
And his firing promoted some soul-searching from Atkinson.
“Yeah, I’ve grown a lot. I’ve changed a lot as a coach, which is a good thing. I’ve progressed. I’ve developed,” Atkinson said. “Definitely not the same coach I was in Brooklyn. So, yeah. And all those experiences, the range of experiences I’ve had from [the] Clippers — conference finals with the Clippers, and going through that — and obviously Golden State and the championship in ’22.
“And then the experience I had this summer, being in the Olympics. That’s kind of been my philosophy, how many experiences can I get in this league. And that was part of the thought process after I got fired in Brooklyn, I was like, ‘Man.’ You’re a little taken aback. And then you’re like, ‘OK, how do we turn this into how can I get better?’ And, luckily, I felt like I’ve made the right decisions.”
A self-professed curmudgeon, Atkinson is an admittedly blunt New Yorker.
He earned a reputation as hard-driving in Brooklyn, and has learned to coach with a lighter hand now after a year with the Clippers and three with the Warriors.
“[I’m] more patient, more of a manager,” Atkinson said. “[In] Brooklyn, I was a real coach. I was really coaching the game hard, which is typical for a first-time coach. You’re trying to make sure every shootaround is perfect, every practice is perfect. And it’s my experience with Steve [Nash] and Ty [Lue], and my international experience being around other coaches, just having more of a big-picture feel. I do a better job of managing the locker room, managing players, don’t get so stressed out about the little things like I used to. I’m sure that comes with age, too.”
Could Atkinson, 57, have gotten to that point in Brooklyn if they hadn’t fired him?
If they’d given him a year with Durant and Irving, could he have had the same growth?
“That’s a great question. I can’t answer that. I don’t have a crystal ball. I wonder,” Atkinson said. “But I do know how it played out was almost the perfect scenario in terms of my development. Would I have gotten there otherwise? That’s an unknown. I’d love to play that out in an alternative life.”
Nets coach Jordi Fernandez made his return to Cleveland after being a Cavs development coach and spending three years with G-League Canton, two as the head coach.
New Orleans star Zion Williamson was diagnosed with a left hamstring strain. The Nets play at the Pelicans on Monday.
