For the second time during these playoffs, the Golden State Warriors will have an assistant poached for a head coaching job.
After the Sacramento Kings chose Mike Brown to run the team next year, the Charlotte Hornets followed suit.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Hornets are hiring Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson — who formerly coached the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020 — on a four-year deal.
Atkinson, former journeyman point guard out of Richmond, spent most of his career overseas, and began his coaching career with Paris Basket Racing, before four-year stints with the Knicks and Hawks, respectively, led him to the Nets head coaching job.
He is in his first and only year with the Warriors after spending one with the Clippers last season, and will get his second chance as a head coach with a young Charlotte team featuring the likes of LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges.
