Kenny Atkinson reveals how the “crazy” memory of his Brooklyn rebuild relates to the current team

Kenny Atkisson knows the challenges of reconstruction. Ex Brooklyn Nets now head coach leading the championship hopefuls Cleveland Cavaliersalso knows what it takes to be successful.

Although Atkinson acknowledged the difficulties in the Nets’ situation, he is confident team will eventually break through, as its group did when it entered the 2018-19 playoffs.

“You definitely go through those (tough) moments. You like to stay process-oriented and stick with it, but you go home after the game and take that L. It’s tough, especially when they start to match 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’ve been 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 made the playoffs; it was like we won the championship. It was crazy, because you can look back the first year, I think we lost 27 of 29. It was crazy, like, ‘Are we ever going to win another game?’ (The turnaround) is going to happen here because they drafted some really good talent. They have a good coaching staff and a good front office. It will break through. You’re just waiting for it, like ‘When is it going to happen?’ And you look at it like, ‘Is it ever going to happen?’… But they play so hard that eventually it will happen with the talent they have.”

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

“It’s tough, especially when the losses start piling up. … My first year here, I think we lost 27 out of 29. It was crazy, like, ‘Did we . . . pic.tvitter.com/IOIruKSRfkk

— Eric Slater (@erikslater_) March 1, 2026

The Nets’ loss to Cleveland was their eighth straight, marking their longest losing streak of the season. Still, the four-point loss to the fourth-seeded Cavaliers was a step in the right direction after the Boston Celtics were throttled 148-111 on Friday.

Networks in search of victories through the challenges of a rebuilding season

In the second season of a rebuild, Brooklyn’s focus is not on wins or losses, but on development. While development wins are the most important, they don’t show up on the scoreboard.

Danny Wolf admitted that accepting that reality was a challenge in the Nets locker room.

“Most guys in the NBA come from winning teams, regardless of the level,” Wolff said. “This is the first time I’ve been a part of, I’m not saying 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 to say that you can learn from a loss, because it stings and shit, and losing is like a group, but I think losing is like a group, but I think resilience and fight (it’s important when you lose to a team by four points that you lost to by 30 a week ago, I think that speaks volumes about improvement).

The Nets are hoping this rebuild will produce similar results to Shaun Marks’ first. However, the current squad is a stark contrast to the groups Atkinson coached from 2016 to 2019.

Brooklyn was bereft of rookie talent in those years. The Nets now have an NBA record five first round rookie picks. While that’s a luxury compared to their last rebuild, it’s also an unprecedented challenge for Jordi Fernandes 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 to swim to make sure the other one doesn’t drown,” Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said of the difficult situation in Brooklyn. “Sometimes you have to take a step back, show mercy 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 it, it’s hard to have the connection or togetherness that it might take to do something difficult in a given game or over time. But it’s also very rewarding when you have character, good young players and good guys. (Fernandez) has done a heck of a job. You see the competitiveness every night.

Mitch Johnson was asked how challenging it is for the Nets to develop five starters:

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

— Eric 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, except for Demin, spent a long time in the G League. Each had encouraging steps in Brooklyn’s rotation that emboldened Brooklyn’s strengths.

The Nets’ 15-45 record put them in first place to add a top draft pick to their young core this summer. While draft position will remain the main story surrounding the team over the final 22 games, Fernandez was adamant 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. We hope everyone feels the same way, and that’s what our players do: show up and work every day. It’s not pulling teeth, it’s not uncomfortable, it’s not a bad feeling. So it’s all a good thing. Coming here and feeling like we can go against anybody, if you want to be up. 20. If you’re 20, you want to be down 10. We’ve got to be competitive. We’re not going to flip a switch and all of a sudden we’re going to be there.

“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 going to 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. Obviously, I want to win every game, but to play these 25 to compete and then this summer, it’s the biggest summer of our lives.