Kenny Atkinson was named the Brooklyn Nets head coach on April 17, 2016. Before he took the Nets head coaching job, Atkinson was an assistant coach for the New York Knicks (2008-12) and the Atlanta Hawks (2012-16).
His first coaching gig came as an assistant for Paris Basket Racing, a professional club in France, from 2004-06.
His first season with the Brooklyn Nets was a hard season. Brooklyn only won 20 games in 2016-17 and the players were frustrated throughout the season. The Nets would finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.with the worst record in the NBA at 20-62.