Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson had to ensure that his team was ready for Jordan Ott and the Phoenix Suns on New Year's Eve. If the wine and gold weren't prepared, the visitors would have taken it from them. The Cavs heeded that warning and wound up winning the game by double digits, but that result doesn't discount the level of respect Atkinson has for his longtime assistant.
“Listen, he's doing a hell of a job,” Atkinson said before Wednesday's meeting. “I mean, to me, the Suns are the hardest-playing team in the league right now. They play harder than anybody. That's what I see. I'm not at the game, but it jumps off the page. So that's a real credit to him.
“They've got two guys that kind of lead that, right? You got [Dillon] Brooks and [Devin] Booker. Those guys are known. They play hard at both ends. So you've got your head coach, your two leaders that play extremely hard, and then everybody else just follows. And that's kind of how they've turned it. I think it was Jordan's first goal. When you can win in, that's what you do. We're going to be the most competitive team in the league. And I'd give them an A+ for that because that's certainly what it looks like.”
Atkinson and Ott's relationship dates back to 2013, when they worked together with the Atlanta Hawks. Albeit with different experience levels and responsibilities, both were on Mike Budenholzer's bench until 2016, including a franchise-record-setting 60-win season in 2014-15.
Ott followed Atkinson to the Brooklyn Nets following that stint, officially landing his first assistant position. Even after Atkinson's departure in March 2020, he stayed in Brooklyn through the 2021-22 campaign.
Following a two-year stay with the Los Angeles Lakers and a 2024-25 pit stop with the Cavs, Ott landed his first NBA head coaching job in Phoenix. Atkinson sensed he was ready for his own team “probably last year.”
“I felt like he just took a bigger step, took on a bigger role with us,” Atkinson said. “I think I stepped back a lot and kind of let him and other bench assistants do more and just saw the confidence growing, but he was my right-hand man and has been for a while. So it doesn't surprise me, the success he's having.”
Ott shared that he “wouldn't be here right now” without Atkinson's mentorship. Last season, he observed Atkinson involving his assistants more and delegating responsibilities more than he had in the past, a key takeaway that Ott brought to Phoenix. There's also a fundamental understanding that it's about the players, the style of the league, and adapting to trends.
“He's my guy,” Cavs All-Star forward Evan Mobley added. “He was with me all last year and taught me a lot. And I know he's doing a great job over there, so it was just fun to play against him. He's just good with reading the game and showing you the opportunities that you can have in certain aspects of the game, whether they're in like a drop [coverage] or pick and roll, and just playing out of that.”
Despite being plagued by injuries this season, Ott's Suns are 19-14 with a top-10 offense, garnering consistent efforts from whoever has been on the floor on a nightly basis.
“I know his work ethic is famous in the West now,” Atkinson said. “That guy lives at the arena, lives in the office, outworks everybody. He's an incredible, incredible worker. Those Pennsylvania roots, man, he's on it. He's on everything.”
