JJ Reddick’s New Assistant Coaches Started All-Out Brawl By Throwing Hands During NBA Playoffs

JJ Reddick and the Los Angeles Lakers announced the hires of Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan earlier this week. The two veteran NBA coaches bring a lot of knowledge to the staff, as well as on-court beef.

They fought each other during an all-out brawl back in 1993!

Reddick has never coached basketball above the fourth-grade level so he put an emphasis on experience when hiring his assistants. Brooks and McMillan fit the billing and will be able to work closely with the first-year head coach as trusted advisors.

Brooks, 58, coached the Thunder from 2008 to 2015 and the Wizards from 2016 to 2021. He also worked as an assistant for Denver, Sacramento and Portland.

McMillan, 59, coached the SuperSonics from 2000 to 2005, Trail Blazers from 2005 to 2012, Pacers from 2016 to 2020 and Hawks from 2021 to 2023. He also served as an assistant for Indiana.

In addition to their accomplished coaching careers, both of Reddick’s newest hires played in the NBA. McMillan played his entire 13-year career with Seattle. Brooks played 11 years for Philadelphia, Minnesota, Houston, Dallas, New York and Cleveland.

This is where it gets interesting!

Their careers crossed paths during the Western Conference Semifinals in 1993 when the Sonics beat the Rockets in seven games. A dust-up between them sparked a bench-clearing brawl!

Brooks was guarding McMillan, who was throwing elbows during a physical drive to the basket. The latter had enough of the former’s physical play and decided to go after him. Things escalated from there.