The Cleveland Cavaliers have been unstoppable to start the 2024-2025 NBA season, and as a result, the organization has to be happy with the early return of the head coaching change.

The Cavs parted ways with former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff after being eliminated from the 2024 NBA Playoffs and later hired Kenny Atkinson to take over. Atkinson now has the team at 12-0, forcing the league to take notice.

However, at least one NBA legend doesn’t think Atkinson deserves much credit for Cleveland’s perfect start. Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal is skeptical about the skipper’s impact.

“He doesn’t do anything,” O’Neal said of Atkinson. “Donovan Mitchell plays.”

Co-host Charles Barkley then called O’Neal a “dummy” who doesn’t believe in coaching, and O’Neal happily admitted that he doesn’t actually believe in coaching.

But O’Neal is almost certainly in the minority at this point, and Atkinson probably doesn’t care who gets the credit as long as his team keeps winning.

O’Neal’s suggestion that Mitchell deserves credit for Cleveland’s hot start is interesting, especially since the guard has been asked to do less this season than in previous years. He is currently averaging fewer minutes and fewer shots per game than last season, and as a result his rating is also lower.

• Mitchell last season: 35.3 minutes per game, 19.8 field goal attempts per game, 26.6 points per game
• Mitchell this season: 30.7 minutes per game, 18.0 field goal attempts per game, 23.7 points per game

But that certainly isn’t a knock on Mitchell, who is enjoying one of the most efficient seasons of his career and playing winning basketball. Rather, the season he is currently having could be an indication that Atkinson has found ways to build a more balanced offensive attack, which can help the team avoid becoming too reliant on Mitchell.

The Cavs currently lead the league in points per game as a team with 122.4. Players like Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are having impressive offensive seasons, and those are developments that Atkinson may also deserve credit for.

Whether O’Neal believes in the concept of coaching or not, Atkinson appears to be a major threat to win the Coach of the Year award, something that speaks for itself.