Thunder Lose Key Member of Staff to Lakers

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been one of the healthiest teams in the NBA over the last year and now the team has lose a key member of that staff to the Lakers.

Nov 20, 2010; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder logo on a players shorts during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center. The Thunder defeated the Bucks 82-81. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers are hiring Vanessa Brooks as their head athletic trainer and senior physical therapist, sources told Jovan Buha of the Athletic. Brooks was previously with the Western Conference's No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder.

Oklahoma City rattled off 57 wins a year ago, mostly due to the health to their team. While some of the other West competitors dealt with constant lineup fluctuations, Oklahoma City's stability allowed them to compete night in and night out at a high level.

While injuries can often be chalked up to luck, but bench boss Mark Daigneault is the first to credit the work that goes in behind the scenes to create that lock from player rehabs post games, getting treatment on their bodies to stay ready to go and of course the effort from Brooks and her staff.

The Oklahoma City Thunder begin training camp on Tuesday and it is unclear at this time how long they have known about this move coming or their plan which might be a detailed learned at Media Day.

While the Thunder enter camp relatively healthy, the organization does have a plan in place to rehab No. 12 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft Nikola Topic who will be sidelined the entire 2024-25 campaign with an ACL injury.

The Lakers are hiring Vanessa Brooks as their head athletic trainer and senior physical therapist, sources told @TheAthletic. Brooks was previously with the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder.

— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) September 28, 2024

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