Atkinson bags top coach plum

NEW YORK (AFP) — Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson was named as the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Coach of the Year on Monday after a dazzling first season in charge of the team.

The 57-year-old led Cleveland to top spot in the Eastern Conference, where they secured the No.1 seeding with a 64-18 win-loss record.

Atkinson is the third Cleveland coach to be named coach of the year after Bill Fitch (1975-1976) and Mike Brown (2008-2009).

Under Atkinson, Cleveland became only the second team in NBA history to have three separate winning streaks of 12 or more games in a single season.

That record also included a 15-game win streak to start the season — tying the second-best start in NBA history.

Atkinson received 59 of a possible 100 first place votes in a media ballot to determine the award, pipping the Detroit Pistons’ head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Houston’s Ime Udoka.

Cleveland opened their playoff campaign with a clean sweep of Miami in the first round of the postseason.

However, the Cavaliers dropped the opening game of their Eastern Conference semi-final series against Indiana on Sunday.