The Charlotte Hornets are down to two finalists for their vacant head coaching position, with Mike D’Antoni and Kenny Atkinson scheduled to meet with owner Michael Jordan this week, ESPN reported Monday.
Should D’Antoni get the job, it would mark his sixth stint as an NBA head coach. He has a career record of 672-527 across 16 seasons with the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets.
D’Antoni won NBA Coach of the Year twice, with the Suns in 2005 and the Rockets in 2017. He spent 2020-21 as an assistant coach with the Brooklyn Nets and last season as a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Atkinson is currently in his first year as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors. In four seasons as head coach of the Nets from 2016-20, he went 118-190 and made the playoffs once.
The Hornets parted ways with coach James Borrego in April after four seasons, and less than a year after giving him a multi-year extension. The team finished 43-39 in 2021-22 and reached the NBA’s play-in tournament for the second straight season.
–Field Level Media