Whether or not JJ Redick’s lack of coaching experience will hinder him in his new role as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, it was pivotal for Redick, general manager Rob Pelinka, and the rest of the Laker brain trust to surround Redick with an experienced coaching staff.
On Wednesday, the team took the first step in that process, hiring former longtime NBA head coaches Scott Brooks and Nate McMillian to assistant roles on Redick’s staff.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski had the news first.
ESPN Sources: The Los Angeles Lakers are hiring Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks as top assistant coaches on JJ Redick’s new staff. Redick gets two longtime head coaches with a combined 1,189 victories to surround him. pic.twitter.com/zRtTNlroFp
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2024
After his 10-year NBA career ended after the 1998 season, Brooks joined the coaching ranks with the ABA’s Los Angeles Stars and Southern California Surt before being hired as an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets in 2003. Brooks remained on the Denver bench through the 2005-06 season, then after one season with the Sacramento Kings, joined the Seattle Supersonics (who later moved to Oklahoma City) as an assistant coach. Upon Seattle firing PJ Carlesimo, Brooks was promoted to head coach. He won the 2010 NBA Coach of the Year award and took the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA Finals in 2011, where they lost to the Miami Heat.
Brooks went 338-207 in his seven years with the Thunder. After being fired by the team following the 2014-15 season, Brooks took a year off from coaching before returning to coach the Washington Wizards from 2016-21. He went 183-207 in five seasons with the Wizards but took the team to the playoffs thrice. He spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the Portland Trail Blazers.
McMillan also had a lengthy playing career before becoming a coach, spending all 12 of his NBA seasons with the SuperSonics. After his career ended after the 1998 season, McMillan served as an assistant for the Sonics before holding the head coaching position from 2000-05. He went 212-183 as head coach of the team he played for and took them to the postseason twice. After the 2004-05 season, McMillan resigned as Sonics coach to become the head coach of the Trailblazers, where he remained through the 2012 season. McMillian’s time in Portland saw varying results, as he went 266-269 in seven seasons with the team, making three playoff appearances.
McMillan’s next stop was as an assistant with the Indiana Pacers, but when Frank Vogel’s contract wasn’t renewed after the 2016 season, McMillan was promoted to the head coaching role again. He went 183-136 with the Pacers and took the team to the playoffs in each of his four seasons at the helm, but made it out of the first round just once. He would later coach the Atlanta Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, where the team lost to the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks in six games.
