After Kenny Atkinson bails, Hornets shift focus to Mike D'Antoni

After Kenny Atkinson backed out of his agreement to become the Charlotte Hornets' next head coach, the team is scrambling to find a leader.

Now, Charlotte is resuming talks with the other finalist from their coaching search: Mike D'Antoni.

D'Antoni is meeting with Hornets owner Michael Jordan today to once again discuss the franchise's opening, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Atkinson shocked everyone when he changed his mind and opted to stay with the Golden State Warriors as an assistant coach after the team won this year's NBA championship.

Now, D'Antoni has to be considered the favorite to land the Hornets' gig, considering he was essentially the runner-up behind Atkinson.

D'Antoni's last stint as a head coach was with the Houston Rockets from 2016-17 through 2019-20. He was part of the Brooklyn Nets' coaching staff under Steve Nash in 2020-21.

The 71-year-old has a 672-527 record (and a .560 winning percentage) as an NBA head coach. He's 54-56 (.491) in the playoffs throughout his career. He's won the NBA's Coach of the Year award twice (in 2005 and 2017), and he previously led the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets to the Western Conference Finals.