Kenny Atkinson reveals how ‘insane’ memory of his Nets rebuild applies to current team

Kenny Atkison knows about the challenges of a rebuild. The former Brooklyn Nets head coach, now leading the championship-hopeful Cleveland Cavaliers, also knows what it takes for one to be successful.

While Atkinson acknowledged the difficulties of the Nets’ situation,  he’s confident the team will eventually break through, as his group did when they made the playoffs in 2018-19.

“You definitely go through those [hard] moments. You love to stay process-oriented and stick with it, but you’re going home after the game and you’re taking that L. It’s hard, especially when they start stacking up,” Atkinson said Sunday before Brooklyn’s 106-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. “Everybody says, ‘Well, don’t worry.’ Of course, you worry if you’re a competitor. But that’s part of it, part of going through a rebuild and part of being a young coach. You see Charlotte right now, right, they went through it. That third year [in Brooklyn] when we broke through and made the playoffs, it was almost doubly rewarding, because you went through these real struggles and tough times.

“I’ll never forget when we clinched the playoffs; it was like winning the championship. It was crazy, because you can look back at year one, I think we lost like 27 of 29. It was insane, like, ‘Are we ever gonna win another game?’ [The turnaround] will happen here because they drafted really good talent. They’ve got a good coaching staff and a good front office. It’ll break through. You’re just waiting for that, like ‘When is that gonna happen?’ And you look at it like, ‘Is it ever going to happen?’… But they play so hard, it’s eventually going to happen with the talent they have.”

Kenny Atkinson on whether it's difficult to maintain a positive outlook during a rebuilding year like the one the Nets are going through:

"It's hard, especially when the losses start stacking up… My first year here, I think we lost like 27 of 29. It was insane, like, 'Are we… pic.twitter.com/IOIruXRfkk

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) March 1, 2026

The Nets’ loss to Cleveland was their eighth straight, marking their longest losing streak of the season. Yet, the four-point defeat against the fourth-seeded Cavaliers was a step in the right direction following Friday’s 148-111 throttling at the hands of the Boston Celtics.

Nets searching for victories through challenges of rebuilding season

In the second season of a rebuild, Brooklyn’s focus isn’t wins or losses, so much as development. While developmental victories are paramount, they don’t show up on the scoreboard.

Danny Wolf admitted that accepting that reality has been a challenge within the Nets’ locker room.

“Most guys in the NBA come from winning teams, whatever level that is,” Wolf said. “This is the first time I’ve been a part of, I don’t say we’re a losing team, obviously our record is 15-45, but we’re the youngest team in the NBA and there’s a lot of valuable lessons. I hate saying you can learn from a loss, because it stings and it sucks, and losing as a competitor is one of the worst feelings, but with such a young group, I think the resilience and the fight [is important]. When you lose to a team by four that you lost to by 30 a week ago, I think that speaks volumes to improvement.”

The Nets hope this rebuild will yield a similar result to Sean Marks’ first. However, the current team is a stark contrast to the groups Atkinson coached from 2016 to 2019.

Brooklyn was devoid of rookie talent during those years. The Nets now feature an NBA-record five rookie first-round picks. While that’s a luxury compared to their last rebuild, it’s also an unprecedented challenge for Jordi Fernandez and his staff.

“It’s hard to ask a 19-year-old to help another 19-year-old. It’s like asking a bunch of kids who are just learning how to swim to make sure the other one doesn’t drown,” Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said of the difficulties of Brooklyn’s situation. “You have to, at times, take a step back and give grace and be patient. They’re learning what it takes to survive in this league, which is a lot. When you have multiple young players trying to do that, it’s hard to have the connectivity or togetherness that it may take to execute something hard on a given play or over time. But it’s also very rewarding when you have the character, good young players, and guys who are playing hard. Jordi [Fernandez] has done a heck of a job. You see the competitiveness every night. You kinda just gotta stay with it.”

Mitch Johnson when asked how challenging he imagines it is for the Nets to develop five rookies:

“It’s hard to ask a 19-year-old to help another 19-year-old. It’s like asking a bunch of kids learning how to swim to make sure the other one doesn’t drown.” pic.twitter.com/dOFqkdPDpf

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 26, 2026

The Nets have done their best to juggle the development of their rookies — Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf. All of them, besides Demin, have spent extended time in the G League. Each has turned in encouraging stretches in Brooklyn’s rotation that have left Brooklyn’s brass encouraged.

The Nets’ 15-45 record has put them in a prime position to add a star-level draft pick to their young core this summer. While draft position will remain the main storyline surrounding the team over its last 22 games, Fernandez was adamant that his team will compete until the season’s final buzzer.

“The record is what it is. It’s a reality, and we’re well aware of it,” Fernandez said. “And at the same time, we don’t like it. Hopefully, everybody feels the same way, and that’s what our players do: they show up and work every single day. It’s not pulling teeth, it’s not uncomfortable, it’s not a bad feeling. So that’s all a good thing. Coming here and feeling that we can go against anybody has to be very important. If you’re up 10, you want to be up 20. If you’re down 20, you want to be down 10. Those things have to matter. We have to be competitive. We’re not gonna turn on a switch and all of the sudden we’re gonna be there. It’s gonna be a process.

“I like where the group is. The group cares, the coaches care, the organization cares. Finding our own wins, we did it last year, we’re gonna do it this year in a different way because it’s a different context. We really like where we are. We have a process and a plan in place. You cannot control everything because there are things that are [out of your control], but it’s very exciting. And everybody should feel the excitement of the next step. Obviously, I want to win every single game, but playing these 25 to compete and then this summer, it’s the biggest summer of our lives.”

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