Scott Brooks
Scott William Brooks (born July 31, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the top assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a player, he won an NBA championship with the Houston Rockets in 1994.
Brooks in 2019 during his tenure with the Washington Wizards | |
| Portland Trail Blazers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Associate head coach |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | July 31, 1965 French Camp, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | East Union (Manteca, California) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 1987: undrafted |
| Playing career | 1987–2001 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 1, 4, 2 |
| Coaching career | 2000–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1987–1988 | Albany Patroons |
| 1988 | Fresno Flames |
| 1988–1990 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 1990–1992 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 1992–1995 | Houston Rockets |
| 1995–1996 | Dallas Mavericks |
| 1996–1997 | New York Knicks |
| 1997–1998 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 2000–2001 | Los Angeles Stars |
| As coach: | |
| 2000–2001 | Los Angeles Stars (assistant) |
| 2001–2002 | Southern California Surf |
| 2003–2006 | Denver Nuggets (assistant) |
| 2006–2007 | Sacramento Kings (assistant) |
| 2007–2008 | Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder (assistant) |
| 2008–2015 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 2016–2021 | Washington Wizards |
| 2021–present | Portland Trail Blazers (assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As coach: | |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 3,317 (4.9 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 685 (1.0 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,608 (2.4 apg) |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
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 edit
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 edit
Playing and early coaching career edit
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 edit
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) edit
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) edit
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–present) edit
On August 2, 2021, Brooks was hired by the Portland Trail Blazers as the assistant coach to Chauncey Billups.[23]
Head coaching record edit
| 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 edit
- ^ NBA.com coach profile: Scott Brooks
- ^ Anderson, Jason. "French Camp native a leader by example". The Stockton Record. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
- ^ Staff Writer. "Scott Brooks basketball camp". The Stockton Record. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
- ^ Penner, Mike (January 13, 1987). "Irvine's Brooks Shows Pacific It Made a Mistake". LA Times. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
- ^ a b . NBA. Archived from the original on February 10, 2001.
- ^ "UC Irvine Alum Scott Brooks to Coach NBA Western All-Stars". www.ucirvinesports.com. February 13, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
- ^ Weyler, John (February 22, 1987). "Irvine's Brooks Scores 41 to Burn Pacific". LA Times. Retrieved May 27, 2012.
- ^ Rosen, Zach (December 1, 2019). "UC Irvine honors Scott Brooks, retires his number 12". NBA.com. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Winderman, Ira (2000). "Let's make a deal--or not". The Sporting News. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
- ^ White, Lonnie (February 16, 1999). "Anxious Times for Nesby". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
- ^ White, Lonnie (October 29, 1999). "Popular Brooks, Smith Released". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
- ^ Terry, Mike (December 26, 2000). "Reborn ABA begins future tonight". The Spokesman-Review. p. C2. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
- ^ Carlesimo fired; Brooks to take over Thunder in interim
- ^ "NBA: Thunder give Brooks multi-year contract". 3 July 2012.
- ^ Scott Brooks to coach West All-Stars
- ^ "Oklahoma City Thunder Parts Ways With Scott Brooks as Head Coach". NBA.com. April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2015.
- ^ Wojnarowski, Adrian. "Sources: Scott Brooks passing on interviews, likely sitting out next season". sports.yahoo.com. Yahoo. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
- ^ "Wizards Hire Scott Brooks as Head Coach". MonumentalSportsNetwork.com. April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
- ^ Brewer, Jerry (July 14, 2016). "Wizards' new foundation begins with Scott Brooks's bond with young players". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
- ^ "Wizards part ways with Brooks". NBA.com. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ^ "Sources: Wizards' Brooks out as talks fall apart". ESPN.com. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ "Trail Blazers Announce Coaching Staff Additions". NBA.com. August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
External links edit
- Career statistics and player information from NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com
- at the Wayback Machine (archived February 10, 2001) at NBA.com
- Scott Brooks coach biography at NBA.com
- bbr as coach