The whole NBA is still in shock after Kenny Atkinson backed out of his deal with the Charlotte Hornets and chose to stay with the Golden State Warriors instead.
To recall, Atkinson agreed to become the Hornets’ next head coach during Golden State’s 2022 NBA Finals run against the Boston Celtics. While everything looked set for him to take over, he had a change of heart after the Warriors won the championship.
Per the report of Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Atkinson decided to stay as the Warriors’ top assistant due to his belief that it is the best for him.
Of course it took the whole world by surprise, especially with the offseason starting and the 2022 NBA Draft coming soon. Instead of the Hornets planning already of what move they should do, they had to go back to restart the hiring process.
For what it’s worth, while it’s not a common occurrence in the NBA, the Hornets haven’t lucked out since there are a number of solid candidates remaining.
This does NOT happen every day in NBA coaching. Now to see if Michael Jordan’s Hornets revert to the previous runner-up in its search: Mike D’Antoni. https://t.co/UE667NatHt
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 18, 2022
Lot of qualified black head coaching candidates for Michael Jordan to consider this time as well. https://t.co/ub5SHvE7Xg
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) June 18, 2022
Several fans and media personalities also couldn’t help but laugh, poke fun and make interesting comparisons about the situation. As Ashley Nicole Moss of Sports Illustrated put it, it’s like the Warriors’ lead assistant got back to his ex-girlfriend with his current girlfriend not even aware that they have already broken up. Yikes!
Kenny Atkinson went back to his ex and his current girl doesn’t even know they broke up. MESSY 😅 https://t.co/xDj0xeNDmv
— Ashley Nicole Moss (@AshNicoleMoss) June 18, 2022
Here are some of the funniest reactions from the Warriors-Hornets situation involving Kenny Atkinson:
Kenny Atkinson on coaching the Hornets after winning with the Warriors pic.twitter.com/s94wKefzsg
— HoodieBev (@HoodieBev) June 18, 2022
Steve Kerr welcoming Kenny Atkinson back to the Warriors coaching staff: pic.twitter.com/k46dsivSyv
— The Pettiest Laker Fan 🤫 (@ThePettiestLA) June 18, 2022
https://twitter.com/TatumTooTuff/status/1538244648640172032
Kenny Atkinson saw all the champagne from the Warriors celebrations and told himself no way he can leave this to coach Mason Plumlee.
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) June 18, 2022
Michael Jordan after Kenny Atkinson turned down being the Hornets head coach. pic.twitter.com/TwPSzu4J1Q
— Colb (@___Colb___) June 18, 2022
Kenny Atkinson tasted champagne and said he ain’t going back to poverty, I understand https://t.co/Pwo9gw9fWr
— Oluwajomiloju (@JomiAdeniran) June 18, 2022
MJ: “Kenny Atkinson just texted me and said he not coming”
Hornets: pic.twitter.com/e2URpx9Wxq
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) June 18, 2022