Kenny Atkinson Backs Out Of Charlotte Hornets Coaching Job

Kenny Atkinson has reportedly backed out of the Charlotte Hornets coaching job, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Instead, he chose to stay as the Golden State Warriors' top assistant.

ESPN Sources: Kenny Atkinson has decided he won’t become the Charlotte Hornets’ head coach and will remain with Golden State as top assistant. After being offered job during the NBA Finals, further conversations led Atkinson to believe it would be best to remain with Warriors.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 18, 2022

Atkinson reportedly agreed to become Charlotte's head coach last week during the NBA Finals. But after Golden State took home the NBA championship back to the Bay Area, it seems like Atkinson wants to keep his place with the newly-crowned champs.

The Warriors hired the 55-year-old last summer and became an integral part of head coach Steve Kerr's staff.

Prior to Golden State, Atkinson was an assistant for the L.A. Clippers during the 2020-21 season. And before that, he served as the Brooklyn Nets head coach from 2016 to 2020.

As for the Hornets, they will need to restart their head coaching search once again after firing James Borrego at the end of the 2021-22 regular season.

Mike D'Antoni and Terry Stotts emerged as top candidates for Charlotte before they decided on Atkinson last week. It seems likely that the job will come down to those two former head coaches once again.