Charlotte Hornets Choose Former Nets Coach Over Mike D’Antoni

Despite having a talented roster, the young Charlotte Hornets have struggled to notch a spot in the postseason over the last couple of years.

Following the 2020-2021 regular season, the Hornets made the NBA’s Play-In tournament. Unfortunately, a blowout against the Indiana Pacers prevented them from making the playoffs.

The following year, Charlotte landed in a similar position. After failing to clinch one of the top six seeds in the Eastern Conference, the Hornets needed to win two games in the Play-In tournament in order to lock up the eighth seed.

However, they fell short to the Atlanta Hawks and ended their season prematurely once again. James Borrego, who coached the Hornets since 2018, was let go after the Hornets failed to make the playoffs for the fifth time under his management.

The Hornets have been on the hunt for a new head coach for nearly two months. Earlier this week, it seemed Charlotte was down to two finalists as former Sixers assistant Mike D’Antoni and current Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson had interviews with Hornets officials this week.

Although D’Antoni was a strong candidate and consistently linked to the Hornets job, Charlotte intends to make it official with Atkinson soon, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Atkinson met with Charlotte Hornets officials — including owner Michael Jordan — on Wednesday and the franchise has decided on the former Nets coach as its new head coach, sources said. Atkinson brings development and defensive structure to a young and talented roster. https://t.co/MqlwGJxzz9
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 10, 2022

Coaching in the NBA since 2008, Atkinson has held several jobs as an assistant and even had himself a head coaching job at one point.

After spending four seasons with the New York Knicks as an assistant, Atkinson found himself a job with the Atlanta Hawks from 2012 to 2016. Then, he joined the Brooklyn Nets as the team’s head coach from 2016 to 2020.

Atkinson’s Nets missed the playoffs in his first two years as the head coach. In 2018-2019, Brooklyn made it to the postseason as the sixth seed and fell short to the Sixers in the first round. Then, Atkinson resigned 62 games into the 2019-2020 season.

Since then, Atkinson has held jobs as an assistant on the Los Angeles Clippers and the Warriors’ bench, where he currently coaches. After Golden State’s championship run, Atkinson is expected to head to Charlotte to form his own staff for the second time in his career.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

More Sixers News:

Reconsidering the All-NBA Format: After missing out on first team All-NBA over the last two seasons despite being an NBA MVP finalist both times, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid’s snubs have led to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reconsidering the All-NBA voting format. Before the 2022 NBA Finals tipped off, Silver discussed the current format and acknowledged that Embiid’s spot as a second team candidate could cause the league to re-think how the voting is done. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

The Latest on Star Trade Rumors: For months, there have been rumblings about multiple stars such as Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal and Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell potentially packing up and finding a new situation. As the 2022 offseason progresses, what are Beal and Donovan’s current plans according to insiders? CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Add us as a preferred source on Google