Scott William Brooks (born July 31, 1965) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach and former player who is the top assistant coach for the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA). He played point guard at

San Joaquin Delta College San Joaquin Delta College (Delta College) is a public community college in Stockton, California. It was founded in 1935 as Stockton Junior College. The college serves a district area that includes all of San Joaquin County and parts of Alamed ...

and

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciple ...

before playing his last two years at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...

. He was inducted into UCI's Hall of Fame in 2001.

Early life and college

Born in

French Camp, California French Camp (from ''Campo de los Franceses'', Spanish for "Field of the Frenchmen") is an unincorporated community in San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 3,770 as of the 2020 census. Up from 3,376 at the 2010 census ...

on July 31, 1965, Brooks graduated from East Union High School at

Manteca, California Manteca ( Spanish for "lard") is a city in San Joaquin County, California. The city had a population of 83,498 as of the 2020 census. History Manteca is a city in the Central Valley of California, located east of San Francisco. It was f ...

in 1983. As a freshman, he played college basketball at

for a season and then transferred for his sophomore year to

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" Akeem Olajuwon. After only being offered a walk-on spot by nearby

University of the Pacific University of the Pacific may refer to: *University of the Pacific (Colombia) *University of the Pacific (Ecuador) *University of the Pacific (Peru) * University of the Pacific (United States) *University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh * University of ...

, he declined that offer and spent the next two years at the

. In his senior season at UCI, he averaged 23.8 points and made 43.2% of his three-point attempts. 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

later that season to tie the Spanos Center scoring record. Brooks was inducted to the UC Irvine Hall of Fame in 2001 and had his jersey No. 12 retired on November 30, 2019.

Professional career

Playing and early coaching career

After not being drafted in the

1987 NBA Draft The 1987 NBA draft was held on June 22, 1987, in New York City. This draft included two future members of the NBA 50 Greatest Players list, David Robinson and Scottie Pippen, as well as fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, who was named to the ...

, Brooks debuted professionally with the

Albany Patroons The Albany Patroons are a professional basketball team that plays in The Basketball League (TBL). Previously, the team competed in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The Patroons won ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

under coach

Bill Musselman William Clifford Musselman (August 13, 1940 – May 5, 2000) was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was known for his trademark intensity, once being quoted as saying, "Defeat is worse than death ...

. 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 World Basketball League (WBL) was a minor professional basketball league in the United States and Canada that ran from 1988 to 1992. It was founded as the International Basketball Association in November 1987, before changing its name prior to the ...

. Brooks played 10 seasons (1988–1998) in the NBA, appearing as a member of the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Divisio ...

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associa ...

and

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

, and was a member of Houston's 1994 NBA Championship team. In 1995, he was traded to the Mavericks for

Morlon Wiley Morlon David Wiley (born September 24, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player and former assistant coach for the National Basketball Association's Orlando Magic. College career Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Wiley played colle ...

and a second-round pick in the only trade deadline deal of the season. Brooks signed with the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

before the 1998–99 season but sat out due to a right knee injury. The Clippers waived Brooks on February 19, 1999, re-signed him, then released Brooks in October 1999, during the 1999–2000 preseason.

Coaching career

Brooks joined the

Los Angeles Stars LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

(ABA) in 2000–01, where he was both a player and an assistant coach.

Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder (2007–2015)

After serving as an assistant coach with the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

and

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, Brooks was named an assistant to P. J. Carlesimo with the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conf ...

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. 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 The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is aw ...

, 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. On January 29, 2014, Brooks was named the Western Conference All-Star Coach for the

2014 NBA All-Star Game The 2014 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 16, 2014, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2013–14 season. It was the 63rd edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at Smoothie ...

in New Orleans. 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. He left as the coach with the third-most wins in the Sonics/Thunder history, behind only

Lenny Wilkens Leonard Randolph Wilkens (born October 28, 1937) is an American former basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been inducted three times into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, first in 1989 as ...

and

George Karl George Matthew Karl (born May 12, 1951) is an American former professional basketball coach and player. After spending five years as a player for the San Antonio Spurs, Karl became an assistant with the team before getting the chance to become a ...

. 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.

Washington Wizards (2016–2021)

Scott Brooks (Hornets at Wizards 12-14-16)

On April 26, 2016, Brooks was hired by the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

, becoming the 24th head coach in franchise history. He altered the team's culture in the off-season and met with several players. 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.

Portland Trail Blazers (2021–present)

On August 2, 2021, Brooks was hired by the

as the assistant coach to Chauncey Billups.

Head coaching record

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Notes

External links

* at NBA.com
Scott Brooks coach biography
at NBA.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Scott 1965 births Living people Albany Patroons players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from California Cleveland Cavaliers players Dallas Mavericks players Denver Nuggets assistant coaches Houston Rockets players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Minnesota Timberwolves players New York Knicks players Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coaches Oklahoma City Thunder head coaches People from French Camp, California Philadelphia 76ers players Point guards Sacramento Kings assistant coaches San Joaquin Delta College alumni Seattle SuperSonics assistant coaches TCU Horned Frogs men's basketball players UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Washington Wizards head coaches