Apparently playoff contention and a darkhorse NBA Coach of the Year candidacy will be enough to get Kenny Atkinson a well-deserved extension.
Atkinson — who has the Nets sitting seventh in the Eastern Conference with just four games left in the regular season, and poised for their first postseason trip since 2015 — is on the verge of finalizing a contract extension from GM Sean Marks.
The news was first reported by ESPN, and confirmed by The Post.
“Well deserved!” Jared Dudley tweeted, along with an emoji of hands clapping in congratulations.
Atkinson’s staff is also expected to be extended after garnering repeated praise throughout the league.
“They have elite coaching,” Dallas’ Rick Carlisle said recently. “He’s one of the most respected coaches in our business because of the task he undertook a few years ago.”
The task was arduous. Atkinson had arrived in 2016-17 from Atlanta as a rookie head coach making $2.5 million, among the lowest-paid in the NBA. He inherited the worst team in basketball, and saw their win total increase from 20 to 28 last season to now 39-39 after Monday’s loss to Milwaukee.
The Long Island-bred Atkinson was an assistant in Atlanta under Mike Budenholzer when the Hawks coach won NBA Coach of the Year. Now coaching the Bucks, Budenholzer is a favorite to win the award again, but said Atkinson deserves the honor.
“I’d love for Kenny to be Coach of the Year. I think he’s very deserving,” Budenholzer said. “What he’s done here in the two or three years it’s been — the culture, the way they compete, the way they play both ends of the court — he’s incredibly deserving.”
“I love watching his teams play. I’m a big believer in Kenny. I learned a ton from him. … He’s got a passion for the game, he’s got a feel for the game. I think his players feel it and sense it.”
Caris LeVert is looking like his old self.
The guard had 24 points, four rebounds and a team-high six assists off the bench in his most impressive night since returning from a dislocated foot.
“It was his best game,” Atkinson said. “From a confidence level and a physical level, that was the Caris from the beginning of the year. I loved how athletic he looked and how fast he looked. We stuck with him. He performed at a high level, and that bodes well for us going forward.”
LeVert has cracked double-figures in four straight, averaging 18.3 points on 48.0 percent shooting.
“I felt like [my old self] for a couple of weeks even though I haven’t played that way,” LeVert said. “I felt myself for the past couple weeks and it felt good to kind of let it show a little bit.”
Dudley is a nominee for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award.
“It’s a honor just to be nominated!” Dudley tweeted, along with a pair of prayerful hands giving thanks.
