Kerr’s comedic strategy for potential Olympic showdown with Atkinson originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Kenny Atkinson was better known as “Spunky” to Richmond coach Dick Tarrant when the 6-foot-3 guard helped lead the small school to the Sweet 16 as a sophomore and then was named All-CAA First Team in consecutive years as a junior and senior.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr has another nickname for his former assistant.
“Yeah, Kenny goes and coaches for the French team and now he goes and coaches for the Cleveland Cavaliers. I think he’s a traitor,” Kerr joked to reporters at a Team USA Zoom training camp last week. “If you know American history, I call him Benedict Arnold.
“I’m joking, of course.”
The distinction couldn’t have been clearer. Kerr was thrilled to add Atkinson for the Warriors’ championship season in 2021-22. He was equally pleased to keep Atkinson from taking over as head coach of the Charlotte Hornets after that season, naming Atkinson his assistant head coach and Mike Brown the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings.
Atkinson has served as Kerr’s assistant on the Warriors’ coaching staff for the past three seasons. The 57-year-old New York native joined the French national team as an assistant coach in December, already making himself a potential opponent for Kerr and Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
On June 24, it was reported that Atkinson had been hired as the Cavs’ next head coach. The news became official four days later.
“Kenny is a great friend,” Kerr said. “We’ve been coaching together for three years. When he came to me and told me he’d been invited to coach the French team, I thought it was a great opportunity and I encouraged him to do it.”
When the Cavs announced Atkinson’s signing, he was in Paris preparing for the Olympics. Atkinson flew to Ohio and officially gave his introductory press conference on Monday.
“He’s a great coach,” Kerr said. “That’s why Cleveland just hired him, and I’ve been very fortunate to have him the last couple of years.”
The United States and France are two of eight countries that have already qualified for the Olympic Games. Four spots remain open, while others try to get their tickets for the Olympic qualifying tournaments currently being held in Greece, Latvia, Puerto Rico and Spain.
Chris DeMarco, assistant to the Warriors, is the head coach of the Bahamas national team. The team is currently based in Spain and hopes to make history by reaching the Olympics for the first time.
But Kerr and Team USA won’t play Atkinson and France, or DeMarco and the Bahamas, in the group stage. Team USA will play Serbia, South Sudan and the winner of an Olympic qualifying match in Puerto Rico in Group C. France will play Germany, Japan and the winner of an Olympic qualifying match in Group B.
If Kerr is to go head-to-head with Atkinson, it will be later in the Olympics, when the pressure is on. The French should be one of the strongest teams of the summer – perhaps good enough to challenge the Americans – and are led by the 7-foot-1 Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, as well as more NBA talent.
Should the United States and France face each other as Olympic opponents, Kerr has already devised a sarcastic strategy to throw Atkinson and the French coaching staff off course.
“In terms of his familiarity with me, when we play France I’ll let coach Spoelstra and coach Lue take over because he’s not that familiar with those guys,” Kerr joked.
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