Kenny Atkinson proving why he’s the coach the Brooklyn Nets need

When Kenny Atkinson took the Brooklyn Nets job before last season, he knew it wouldn’t be easy. Now in his second season, there are surely signs of progress, but many heartbreaking losses as well. Through the ups and downs, Atkinson has shown his true colors as a players first coach.

The Brooklyn Nets have played countless games this season that have come down to the wire. With a team so young, it’s easy to point to one turnover here or there and blame the losses on that. This team is never one to finger point, however.

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The camaraderie and closeness of the locker room is as evident as ever with this team. As is the improvement by a few key players. The credit should undoubtedly go to Atkinson and his staff for developing them in this way.

Perhaps the best example is Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who has been the Nets most improved player this year. Hollis-Jefferson is the longest tenured Net, and has seen a lot of change in his time here, from both a personnel and staff standpoint. Per Netsdaily, it took him a while to adjust, but he did:

"“Whatever you do, you want trust in your leader. Our leader is Kenny. But me, where I come from, the things that I’ve done in life, it’s kind of hard,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “I have this wall sometimes where it’s hard for me to build that trust and that’s where you hit bumps in the road. You don’t fully trust something or you’re not locked in to the process. I feel like once I locked in and fully trusted him, then you start to see the elevation, the incline.”"

Atkinson really fights for his players. Last night in Minnesota, he was ejected from the game for arguing a clear foul call on Joe Harris.

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Having to be held back, Atkinson has never been seen this irate with officiating. But multiple players have been outspoken about not getting the respect that more well known NBA stars get from the officials. Atkinson’s outburst shows that he’s really putting his heart and soul out there every game, just like his players are.

The player holding him back, who has also risen greatly this year, is Spencer Dinwiddie. Dinwiddie has another year left on his deal with the Nets, and is one of the best values in the NBA. He spoke to WFAN’s Evan Roberts recently saying he would love to resign with Brooklyn long term. He also spoke about the culture: “Honestly, my very first impression of Brooklyn was the culture of development. I thought they were very invested in the guys they chose to be a part of that.”

The Brooklyn culture has been something the league has been aware of for a while now. It goes back to Jeremy Lin, who said multiple players reached out to him about joining the Nets.

Despite the fact that they are just two games off last year’s win total, no one in the organization is happy with an 18-32 record through 50 games. But this team is closer than they appear. With a couple of shots falling or calls going the other way, the Nets could easily be a .500 team.

More importantly, their coach is becoming more and more known as a guy who you want to play for. This will not only help as the Nets continue to develop players, but could attract a key free agent down the road, that put the team over the hump, and into legitimate playoff contention.