College - UC-Irvine
HEAD COACH
2009-10 Record: 50-32 (.609)
Career Record: 72-79(.477)
Playoff Record: 2-4(.333)
Scott Brooks concluded his first full-season as head coach by leading the Oklahoma City Thunder to an NBA-best 27 win improvement. His accomplishments were recognized at season’s end when he was awarded the 2009-10 Red Auerbach NBA Coach of the Year award.

Brooks, the 16th head coach in franchise history became the guiding force behind one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history. A year after winning 23 games, the Thunder concluded the 2009-10 season with a record of 50-32 (.610). The 27-win improvement was tied for the eighth largest in NBA history. This past season the Thunder increased their winning percentage by 33.0 points, which led the league (Memphis second with 19.5 point improvement).

During the 2009-10 season, Brooks was awarded NBA Coach of the Month honors in February after the Thunder wrapped-up the month with a 9-2 (.818) mark. The 81.8% winning percentage for the OKC franchise was the highest in a given month since January of 1997.

The Thunder would only increase their number of wins the following month. In March, the team posted an 11-5 record. The 11 wins in the month of March were the most recorded in a given month by the OKC franchise since the 2004-05 season.

Under Brooks, the OKC franchise qualified for the playoffs this last year for the first time since the 2004-05 season. In the first round of the playoffs, the Thunder matched-up against the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City took the eventual NBA Champs to a Game 6 in what proved to be one of the more entertaining first round playoff series in recent memory.

Brooks was named interim head coach of the Thunder 13 games into the 2008-09 season and was later named head coach on April 15, 2009 prior to the team’s final game of the season. A day after being awarded his first NBA head coaching position, Brooks led the Thunder to their most lopsided victory of the year in the team’s season finale, a 126-85 win versus the Los Angeles Clippers at STAPLES Center.

Prior to his appointment as interim head coach on November 22, 2008 Brooks joined P.J. Carlisemo and the Thunder coaching staff at the start of the 2007-08 season.

Before joining the Thunder organization, Brooks spent the 2006-07 season working as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings. His NBA coaching career began with the Denver Nuggets, where he served as an assistant coach under George Karl from 2003-06. Brooks helped lead the Nuggets to the playoffs in each of his three seasons with the club. During his brief tenure with the Nuggets, Denver amassed a 136-110 (.560%) regular season record.

Brooks enjoyed an 11-year (1988-99) playing career in the NBA, appearing in 680 regular season games with Philadelphia, Minnesota, Houston, Dallas, New York, Cleveland and the Los Angeles Clippers. Brooks’ teams advanced to the postseason six of his 11 NBA seasons, and in 1994, he was a member of the NBA Champion Houston Rockets. Brooks holds career averages of 4.9 points and 2.4 assists per game. He excelled from three-point range, shooting 37.2 percent (287-771) from behind the arc. He also played one year with the Albany Patroons (1988) in the Continental Basketball Association, and was named to the CBA’s All-Rookie Team.

In 2000, Brooks was a player/assistant coach with the Los Angeles Stars of the ABA. The following season, he served as the head coach of the Southern California Surf of the ABA, guiding the club to a 23-14 record.

A native of Lathrop, California, Brooks began his collegiate career at Texas Christian University, where he played one season. He then transferred to San Joaquin Delta College for his sophomore season, before spending his final two years at UC Irvine, where he averaged 23.8 points per game as a senior.