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NBA

Kevin Ollie joining Nets’ staff as assistant after Pistons head-coaching snub

By
Brian Lewis
Published June 3, 2023
Updated June 4, 2023, 2:36 p.m. ET

The Nets are adding Kevin Ollie as an assistant coach. 

The news was first reported Saturday by ESPN and was confirmed by The Post. 

Ollie left Overtime Elite after two years of running the Atlanta-based pro basketball feeder program.

The 50-year-old, who coached six seasons at Connecticut and guided the Huskies to the 2014 NCAA championship, had interviewed twice for the Pistons’ head coaching job that went this past week to former Suns coach Monty Williams. 

Now Ollie, who grew up in the Crenshaw neighborhood of Los Angeles, has pivoted and taken an assistant gig under fellow Southern Californian Jacque Vaughn. 

Ollie’s ability to develop and lead are well-known. At Overtime Elite, he helped mold twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson into lottery picks expected to both go in the top 10 later this month, which would make them the highest-drafted set of twins in NBA history.

There are players coming up behind them as well, including point guard Robert Dillingham, who could become NBA contributors later. 

Kevin Ollie
Kevin Ollie is joining the Nets as an assistant. Getty Images
Kevin Ollie celebrates after winning the 2013-14 National Championship while coaching UConn.
Kevin Ollie celebrates after winning the 2014 national championship while coaching UConn. Getty Images

But Ollie, who played his college ball at Connecticut, has developed and led on the pro level as well, as essentially a coach-in-waiting during his NBA career from 1997-2010 with 11 different franchises.

Former Nets star Kevin Durant — who invested financially in Overtime — praised Ollie for teaching him the ropes in Oklahoma City and changing the culture in the Thunder locker room. 

“Kevin Ollie, he was a game changer for us,” Durant told Grantland back in 2014. “I think he changed the whole culture in Oklahoma City. Just his mind set, professionalism, every single day. And we all watched that, and we all wanted to be like that. 

Kevin Ollie
Kevin Ollie had a brief stint with the Nets as a player. Getty Images

“It rubbed off on Russell Westbrook, myself, Jeff Green, James Harden. And then everybody who comes through now, it’s the standard that you’ve got to live up to as a Thunder player. And it all started with Kevin Ollie.” 

Ollie played 19 games for the New Jersey Nets in 2000-01.

Now he’ll return to the franchise as an assistant.

Brooklyn is promoting Long Island’s Ronnie Burrell – the reigning G League Coach of the Year – to fill another assistant position.

The move – hinted at by NetsDaily a month ago – was reported by Hoopshype.

With Ollie and Burrell, Vaughn’s staff now has six assistants, while Long Island has a head coaching vacancy.