Scott Brooks

For the American actor, see Scott Martin Brooks.

Scott Brooks
Brooks in 2019 during his tenure with the Washington Wizards
Los Angeles Lakers
PositionAssistant coach
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1965-07-31) July 31, 1965 (age 59)
French Camp, California, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolEast Union (Manteca, California)
College
NBA draft1987: undrafted
Playing career1987–2001
PositionPoint guard
Number1, 4, 2
Coaching career2000–present
Career history
As player:
1987–1988Albany Patroons
1988Fresno Flames
1988–1990Philadelphia 76ers
1990–1992Minnesota Timberwolves
1992–1995Houston Rockets
1995–1996Dallas Mavericks
1996–1997New York Knicks
1997–1998Cleveland Cavaliers
2000–2001Los Angeles Stars
As coach:
2000–2001Los Angeles Stars (assistant)
2001–2002Southern California Surf
2003–2006Denver Nuggets (assistant)
2006–2007Sacramento Kings (assistant)
2007–2008Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder (assistant)
2008–2015Oklahoma City Thunder
2016–2021Washington Wizards
2021–2024Portland Trail Blazers (assistant)
2024–presentLos Angeles Lakers (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Career NBA statistics
Points3,317 (4.9 ppg)
Rebounds685 (1.0 rpg)
Assists1,608 (2.4 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference

Scott William Brooks (born July 31, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the top assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he won an NBA championship with the Houston Rockets in 1994.

Brooks played point guard at San Joaquin Delta College and Texas Christian University before playing his last two years at the University of California, Irvine.[1] He was inducted into UCI's Hall of Fame in 2001.

Early life and college

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Born in French Camp, California on July 31, 1965,[2] Brooks graduated from East Union High School at Manteca, California in 1983.[3] As a freshman, he played college basketball at Texas Christian University for a season and then transferred for his sophomore year to San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California, about 10 miles from his parents' home in Lathrop, California. One highlight of his year at TCU was being assigned the task of "fronting" Hakeem Olajuwon. After only being offered a walk-on spot by nearby University of the Pacific, he declined that offer and spent the next two years at the University of California, Irvine.[4] In his senior season at UCI, he averaged 23.8 points and made 43.2% of his three-point attempts.[5] On the night that the Bren Events Center opened at UC Irvine on January 8, 1987, Brooks scored 43 points as UCI defeated Utah State, 118–96. He scored 41 points in a 90–79 win at University of the Pacific later that season to tie the Spanos Center scoring record.[6][7] Brooks was inducted to the UC Irvine Hall of Fame in 2001 and had his jersey No. 12 retired on November 30, 2019.[8]

Professional career

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Playing and early coaching career

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After not being drafted in the 1987 NBA draft, Brooks debuted professionally with the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association under coach Bill Musselman. Brooks was named to the CBA's all-rookie team in 1988 and was a member of Albany's CBA Championship team that same season. Later, he played for the Fresno Flames of the World Basketball League.[9]

Brooks played 10 seasons (1988–1998) in the NBA, appearing as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers, and was a member of Houston's 1994 NBA Championship team. In 1995, he was traded to the Mavericks for Morlon Wiley and a second-round pick in the only trade deadline deal of the season.[10] Brooks signed with the Los Angeles Clippers before the 1998–99 season but sat out due to a right knee injury.[11] The Clippers waived Brooks on February 19, 1999,[5] re-signed him, then released Brooks in October 1999, during the 1999–2000 preseason.[12]

Coaching career

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Brooks joined the Los Angeles Stars of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 2000–01, where he was both a player and an assistant coach.[13]

Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder (2007–2015)

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After serving as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets, Brooks was named an assistant to P. J. Carlesimo with the Seattle SuperSonics before the 2007–08 season, and followed the team to Oklahoma City as the Thunder after that season. When Carlesimo was fired on November 22, 2008; Brooks was named interim coach for the rest of the season.[14] On April 22, 2009, the Thunder named him the 15th head coach in the Sonics/Thunder history.

Brooks got off to one of the best starts for a rookie head coach in recent NBA history. He led the Thunder to the playoffs in his first five full seasons with the team. He was named the 2009–10 NBA Coach of the Year after leading the Thunder to a 50-win season and the 8th seed in the Western Conference for the playoffs, a 28-win increase over the previous season. On February 11, 2012, Brooks was named the Western Conference All-Star Coach for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida. In the shortened 66-game 2011–12 season, he led the Thunder to the NBA Finals, where they eventually lost to the 2012 NBA Champions, the Miami Heat. In the 2012 offseason, the Thunder signed Brooks to a multi-year head coaching contract reportedly worth about $18 million.[15]

On January 29, 2014, Brooks was named the Western Conference All-Star Coach for the 2014 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans.[16]

On April 22, 2015, Brooks was fired by the Thunder a week after the team missed the playoffs for the first time in his six full seasons as head coach.[17] He left as the coach with the third-most wins in the Sonics/Thunder history, behind only Lenny Wilkens and George Karl.

It was reported by Adrian Wojnarowski in May that Brooks did not wish to interview for other coaching opportunities for the 2015–16 season, instead desiring to take a break and reconnect with family living in California.[18]

Washington Wizards (2016–2021)

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Brooks coaching the Wizards in December 2016

On April 26, 2016, Brooks was hired by the Washington Wizards, becoming the 24th head coach in franchise history.[19]

He altered the team's culture in the off-season and met with several players.[20] In their first season with Brooks at the helm, the Wizards made it to the NBA playoffs, beating the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, before losing in seven games to the Boston Celtics in the second round. While they also made the playoffs the next year, Washington lost in six games in the first round to the Toronto Raptors, and then missed the playoffs entirely the next two seasons. In Brooks's fifth year as head coach, the team made it to the playoffs as a play-in team, but suffered a first round exit to the Philadelphia 76ers.

On June 16, 2021, the Wizards and Brooks parted ways after his contract expired.[21][22]

Portland Trail Blazers (2021–2024)

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On August 2, 2021, Brooks was hired by the Portland Trail Blazers as the assistant coach to Chauncey Billups.[23]

Los Angeles Lakers (2024–present)

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On August 5, 2024, Brooks joined the Los Angeles Lakers coaching staff as an assistant coach for head coach JJ Redick. [24]

Head coaching record

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Oklahoma City 2008–09 69 22 47 .319 5th in Northwest — — — — Missed Playoffs
Oklahoma City 2009–10 82 50 32 .610 4th in Northwest 6 2 4 .333 Lost in First round
Oklahoma City 2010–11 82 55 27 .671 1st in Northwest 17 9 8 .529 Lost in Conference finals
Oklahoma City 2011–12 66 47 19 .712 1st in Northwest 20 13 7 .650 Lost in NBA Finals
Oklahoma City 2012–13 82 60 22 .732 1st in Northwest 11 5 6 .455 Lost in Conference semifinals
Oklahoma City 2013–14 82 59 23 .720 1st in Northwest 19 10 9 .526 Lost in Conference finals
Oklahoma City 2014–15 82 45 37 .549 2nd in Northwest — — — — Missed playoffs
Washington 2016–17 82 49 33 .598 1st in Southeast 13 7 6 .538 Lost in Conference semifinals
Washington 2017–18 82 43 39 .524 2nd in Southeast 6 2 4 .333 Lost in First round
Washington 2018–19 82 32 50 .390 4th in Southeast — — — — Missed playoffs
Washington 2019–20 72 25 47 .347 3rd in Southeast — — — — Missed playoffs
Washington 2020–21 72 34 38 .472 3rd in Southeast 5 1 4 .200 Lost in First round
Career 935 521 414 .557   97 49 48 .505  

Notes

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  1. ^ NBA.com coach profile: Scott Brooks
  2. ^ Anderson, Jason. "French Camp native a leader by example". The Stockton Record. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  3. ^ Staff Writer. "Scott Brooks basketball camp". The Stockton Record. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  4. ^ Penner, Mike (January 13, 1987). "Irvine's Brooks Shows Pacific It Made a Mistake". LA Times. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Scott Brooks bio". NBA. Archived from the original on February 10, 2001.
  6. ^ "UC Irvine Alum Scott Brooks to Coach NBA Western All-Stars". www.ucirvinesports.com. February 13, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  7. ^ Weyler, John (February 22, 1987). "Irvine's Brooks Scores 41 to Burn Pacific". LA Times. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
  8. ^ Rosen, Zach (December 1, 2019). "UC Irvine honors Scott Brooks, retires his number 12". NBA.com. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  9. ^ Keegan, Tom (January 14, 2011). "Memory lane: Former KU basketball coach Ted Owens reminisces about faces, places over the years". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  10. ^ Winderman, Ira (2000). "Let's make a deal--or not". The Sporting News. Retrieved May 31, 2007.
  11. ^ White, Lonnie (February 16, 1999). "Anxious Times for Nesby". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  12. ^ White, Lonnie (October 29, 1999). "Popular Brooks, Smith Released". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  13. ^ Terry, Mike (December 26, 2000). "Reborn ABA begins future tonight". The Spokesman-Review. p. C2. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
  14. ^ Carlesimo fired; Brooks to take over Thunder in interim
  15. ^ "NBA: Thunder give Brooks multi-year contract". July 3, 2012.
  16. ^ Scott Brooks to coach West All-Stars
  17. ^ "Oklahoma City Thunder Parts Ways With Scott Brooks as Head Coach". NBA.com. April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
  18. ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian. "Sources: Scott Brooks passing on interviews, likely sitting out next season". sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  19. ^ "Wizards Hire Scott Brooks as Head Coach". MonumentalSportsNetwork.com. April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  20. ^ Brewer, Jerry (July 14, 2016). "Wizards' new foundation begins with Scott Brooks's bond with young players". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  21. ^ "Wizards part ways with Brooks". NBA.com. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  22. ^ "Sources: Wizards' Brooks out as talks fall apart". ESPN.com. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  23. ^ "Trail Blazers Announce Coaching Staff Additions". NBA.com. August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  24. ^ "Los Angeles Lakers Complete Coaching Staff". NBA.com. August 5, 2024.
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