Ranking 8 coaching candidates for 76ers to finally finish ‘The Process’
By Tyler Watts
6. Kenny Atkinson
Atkinson was a point guard at Richmond before spending more than a decade playing professionally across the globe. He joined the coaching ranks in 2004 and got his first head coaching chance with the Nets in 2016. Atkinson oversaw a rebuild that got Brooklyn to the playoffs in 2019, and that team was the reason that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving chose the Nets over the Knicks in free agency.
He was fired after four years, despite his success as Durant and Irving wanted to go in another direction. Since Atkinson has been as an assistant coach with the Clippers and Warriors. He briefly accepted the Hornets’ head coaching job last offseason before deciding to stay in Golden State under head coach Steve Kerr.
Is Kenny Atkinson interested in a second stint as a head coach? If so, the Sixers’ job would give him a chance to compete right away. He gained valuable experience working with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George. Could Atkinson be the one to get the most out of Joel Embiid and lift the Sixers to their first championship since 1983?
Atkinson deserves consideration, but there are better targets given how things ended in Brooklyn while working with two superstars.