Kenny Atkinson Has Honest Admission About Reaching 60 Wins

It was more difficult than it seemed, but the Cleveland Cavaliers have finally reached the 60-win mark this season.

They looked poised to do so with ease, but they’ve endured a bit of a tough stretch lately.

It came with a five-point win against the Kawhi Leonard-less Los Angeles Clippers, and while it wasn’t always pretty or easy, the important thing is that they took care of business.

When asked about that, coach Kenny Atkinson admitted that he didn’t even see this coming.

However, he had a goal of improving this team even if it was by a single win, and that’s clearly been the case so far (via Evan Dammarell):

“I didn’t expect 60 wins. I thought we’d be fighting [more]. [Instead], one of my goals was improving on last year. Whether that’s one win or two wins, that’s great. But for this team to take it to another level and shatter things says a lot,” he said.

“I didn’t expect 60 wins. I thought we’d be fighting [more]. [Instead], one of my goals was improving on last year. Whether that’s one win or two wins, that’s great. But for this team to take it to another level and shatter things says a lot.”#Cavs HC Kenny Atkinson.

— Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) March 30, 2025

In all honesty, it’s hard to believe that anybody saw such a quick and bold turnaround coming.

They made a few moves in the offseason, and there were some legitimate questions about whether their core four could actually coexist.

Atkinson turned them into one of the best teams in the entire league, and they’ve been atop the Eastern Conference from the very start of the campaign.

Unfortunately, there are still plenty of people who don’t think of the Cavs as a legitimate NBA championship contender, mostly because they have yet to prove themselves in the playoffs.

All in all, however, this team has been battle-tested multiple times throughout the course of the regular season, and the results have been encouraging.

Even so, none of that will matter unless they keep the ball rolling when it matters the most.