Hornets hiring Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson as head coach

Kenny Atkinson is back to being on the front of the bench again.

The Golden State Warriors assistant has been hired as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

Atkinson, a former head coach for the Brooklyn Nets, signed a four-year deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He replaces James Borrego, who was fired in April after four seasons with Charlotte.

Atkinson, a hot commodity in the coaching market, was a finalist for the Lakers’ head coach opening before Los Angles went with Darvin Ham.

The 55-year-old played international ball for over a decade before transitioning into coaching. Atkinson served as an assistant for the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks before being named Nets head coach in 2016.

Kenny Atkinson Getty Images

During his four years with Brooklyn, Atkinson created a winning team around a franchise that plagued itself for years from the lopsided Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett trade with the Celtics.

In his third year, Atkinson coached the Nets to the No. 6 seed and developed D’Angelo Russell into an All-Star. Within his fourth year, though, and after the Nets acquired superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, he was fired midway through the season.

Atkinson will be tasked with developing Charlotte’s core, which includes budding stars such as LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges. The Hornets made the play-in tournament this season as a 10 seed but lost to the Hawks. 

Charlotte hasn’t made the regular playoffs since 2016, when they had Kemba Walker on their roster.