Alabama Hires Pistons' Brian Adams as Assistant Coach

Nate Oats fills out his coaching staff with yet another NBA hire.

Brian Adams as the head coach of the Agua Caliente Clippers. / Adams' Twitter/X page (@BrianAdams13)

Alabama basketball is hiring Brian Adams of the Detroit Pistons to fill its final assistant coach spot, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The hire of Adams replaces assistant coach Austin Claunch, who left the Crimson Tide to be the head coach at UTSA at the end of last season.

Adams joined the Pistons midway through the 2023-24 season, but has a longtime history as an NBA assistant. He spent 2014-2023 in the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers organizations, following NBA champion head coach Doc Rivers.

Adams also spent two seasons as the Clippers' G League head coach from 2018-2020.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats has a history of hiring from the NBA, and is well-known for running an NBA-style system in Tuscaloosa. Former assistant Charlie Henry came from the NBA ranks, head coaching the Chicago Bulls' G League team before coming to Alabama, and eventually leaving the Crimson Tide to be the head coach at Georgia Southern.

Current assistant coach Ryan Pannone also came from the NBA, previously being an assistant for the New Orleans Pelicans.

Oats has had a fairly unprecedented amount of coaching turnover due to his success at Alabama, already having to replace four different assistants that have left for head coaching jobs. Adams joins a Crimson Tide staff that has two returning members, Pannone and Preston Murphy, who are both entering their second year in Tuscaloosa.

Oats is entering his fifth year at Alabama, and just received a raise and extension alongside raises and extensions for Murphy and Pannone in the offseason.