Five years ago, Kenny Atkinson got fired in Brooklyn. On Monday, he got feted as NBA Coach of the Year.

And the Long Island native did it while guiding his top-seeded Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“I just look at it as part of the story, right, part of your growth,” Atkinson said earlier this season of being ousted in Brooklyn. “You have good things happen, you have setbacks, and — it’s like a player — how do you bounce back? And it was definitely a bounceback.”

Oh, it’s been a pretty high bounce, all the way up to the top of the league.