Kenny Atkinson was named the 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year after leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to 64 wins.

Atkinson was announced as this season’s winner of the Red Auerback Trophy on Monday, edging out former Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff – now with the Detroit Pistons – and the Houston Rockets’ Ime Udoka.

Atkinson took over a play-off team in Cleveland that had 48 wins last season, but his addition helped lead the Cavaliers to the top record in the Eastern Conference. Their 16-win improvement was the third largest in the NBA this season.

Atkinson received 59 of a possible 100 first-place votes and 401 total points. Bickerstaff received 31 first-place votes and 305 points, while Udoka was atop seven ballots, finishing with 113 points.

A global media panel of 100 voters selected the winner of the 2024-25 NBA Coach of the Year Award.

The complete voting results pic.twitter.com/Ic00MtHPzq

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 5, 2025

A first-time winner, Atkinson helped Cleveland’s offence jump from 112.8 points per 100 possessions (17th in the NBA) last season to a league-leading 119.1 this season.

The Cavaliers’ 64 wins this season are the second most in franchise history, trailing only LeBron James’ 2008-09 squad that went 66-16.

Bickerstaff, who was fired by the Cavaliers a year ago, helped guide the Pistons to one of the quickest turnarounds in NBA history.

Bickerstaff took over a team that won 14 games last season but guided them to a 44-38 campaign and the No. 6 seed in the East. That 30-win year-over-year improvement is the seventh largest in NBA history, and almost every team with a larger improvement added a Hall of Fame player in the offseason.

Udoka helped the Rockets to an 11-win improvement over last season, and their 52-30 mark this season earned them the No. 2 seed in a deep Western Conference.