Back In The Day NBA

New Lakers Assistants Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan Once Scuffled During Playing Days

The two respected former head coaches were once players who fought against each other in a 1993 NBA Playoff game.

Scott Salomon

Dec 21, 2022; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach Scott Brooks watches his team play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Paycom Center. Oklahoma City won 101-98. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 21, 2022; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach Scott Brooks watches his team play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Paycom Center. Oklahoma City won 101-98. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers are hiring Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan to serve as J.J. Redick's top two assistants.

Redick, a rookie coach who poked fun at his own inexperience at his introductory press conference, will have two top assistant coaches with actual head coaching experience, and lots of it. Brooks and McMillan combined to win 1,189 games between them.

Brooks and McMillan also know each other from their playing days. The two initiated a bench-clearing brawl in the 1993 NBA playoffs when Brooks' Houston Rockets faced off against McMillan's Seattle Supersonics. After receiving three elbows to the face and a stiff arm, Brooks fought back against McMillan. Then other players got involved.

A brawl ensued after Otis Thorpe of the Rockets went after Seattle's Shawn Kemp. Thorpe then went after Seattle coach George Karl as Kemp approached Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who did his fair share of fighting as a player.

McMillan started his coaching career in Seattle in 2000 and went on to coach the Portland Trailblazers, Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks. McMillan led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2012.

Brooks, meanwhile, coached the Oklahoma City Thunder during their glory years with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Brooks led that Oklahoma City to the NBA Finals in 2012.

There will be more coaches named to Redick's staff in coming weeks.

Scott Salomon is a contributor to Back In the Day NBA. He can be reached at scottsalomon67@gmail.com.

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Scott Salomon

SCOTT SALOMON

Scott Salomon joined FanNation on Sports Illustrated in April 2024 covering breaking news and analysis for the Miami Dolphins channel. In June he joined Inside the Heat and Back in the Day NBA. Scott is based in South Florida and has been covering the local and national sports scene for 35 years. Scott has covered and has been credentialed for the Super Bowl, the NFL Combine, various Orange Bowls and college football championship games. Scott was also credentialed for the NBA All-Star game and covered the Miami Heat during their first six seasons for USA TODAY. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Communication and the St. Thomas University School of Law. Scott has two sons and his hobbies include watching sports on television and binge watching shows on various streaming services. Twitter: @ScottSalomonNFL