Since the NBA season started on October 22, there have been a lot of surprises around the organization. Some surprises may include Victor Wembanyama’s slow start, the endless injuries happening to the players frequently, or even Nikola Jokic still having an MVP type of season. But one surprise I want to write about is the Cleveland Cavaliers fiery start to the season.

Heading into the season, people were expecting the Cavaliers to be a middle-of-the-pack team, winning about the same amount of games that they lose. However, Cleveland has started their season undefeated, going 12-0. No one had the Cavaliers starting their season with this good of a record.

During the off-season, the Cavaliers did not acquire any new players, running it back with pretty much their same team besides drafting Jaylon Tyson in the draft. Many NBA fans saw this decision as a dumb one– they expected the Cavaliers to be shopping pretty heavily for new players to help them win more games, but the Cavs stayed confident in their same team and used last season as a learning experience.

The main reason for the Cavaliers’ success has been the addition of their new head coach Kenny Atkinson. Kenny Atkinson has transformed Cleveland into a league-best offense, and a top-10 defense throughout the association. He has built confidence in his players that prior coach JB Bickerstaff failed to do. Atkinson is the guy that has built Cleveland from the ground up and has made the Cavaliers look like championship contenders.

As the season progresses, Cleveland has an opportunity to prove a lot of people wrong this season. Cavalier fans should be excited for the bright future that Kenny Atkinson is promising to the fans.