SUMMARY
- The Washington Wizards have six assistant coaches who served under Wes Unseld Jr.
- Brian Keefe, Joseph Blair, David Vanterpool, Mike Miller, Zach Guthrie, and James Posey are currently coaching the team.
The Washington Wizards were one of the toughest teams while they were coming up in the league. Over the years, they have accommodated several legends of the game. With a rich history of players, it also meant that they had some of the best coaches around as well. It has been a while since the organization has seen great success but it won’t take long before they come back to the top of the league either.
As of the 2023-24 season, the Wizards were led by Wes Unseld Jr. who was recently repositioned to front office advisor. Based on his name, he is the son of former Wizards center Wes Unseld Sr., who helped the team win their only title. Unseld Jr. started his career as a coach in 2005 with the Wizards. After leaving them in 2011, he returned in 2021 as the head coach. The Wizards signed a four-year deal with him.
Wes Unseld Jr. is out as Washington Wizards head coach and will move to a front office role. pic.twitter.com/C9C6TORp6K
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 25, 2024
Behind all the attention Unseld has gotten as the head coach, he also had a team of talented assistants. Let us take a look into the Wizards’ assistant coaches team.
Brian Keefe, Joseph Blair, David Vanterpool, Mike Miller, Zach Guthrie, and James Posey serve as assistant coaches for the Wizards
The Wizards have a set of assistant coaches who have impressive resumes. Starting with Brian Keefe, who started his journey in the league in 2006. Keefe first started as a video coordinator for the San Antonio Spurs under Gregg Popovich. He eventually branched off and joined the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that had just rebranded in 2007.
The Washington Wizards are promoting top assistant Brian Keefe to interim head coach for the rest of the season, sources tell ESPN. He will replace Wes Unseld Jr., who will move into a front office role. Wizards will do a full offseason search for a new head coach. pic.twitter.com/do1A6h64mK
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 25, 2024
Keefe is most known for his player development abilities helping players like Kristaps Porzingis, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Brandon Ingram over the years. He was introduced to the team in 2023 and is currently the interim head coach of the Wizards. Joseph Blair was an extremely successful star in the EuroLeague and Turkish SuperCup as well. He first worked as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Arizona.
Blair eventually made his way into the league and coached the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Houston Rockets’ G League affiliate. After winning a G League title, he served as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves for one season and joined the Wizards in 2021. David Vanterpool also had a similar career overseas with the Russian League, EuroLeague, Italian SuperCup, ABA, and CBA.
Vanterpool began coaching in 2008 in Russia and eventually joined the NBA. He joined the Wizards coaching squad along with Keefe in 2023. He has served as an associate head coach before. Mike Miller has the most experience as he has been coaching since 1989. He is a former NBA G League Coach of the Year.
James Posey is a 3x NBA Champion, twice as a player and once as an assistant coach. The former NBA All-Rookie Team member became an assistant coach in 2022 following a five-year stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Zach Guthrie has been with the team since 2021, working alongside Unseld.