OKC’s major loss, L.A.’s big gain with hiring of Dr. Vannessa Brooks

The Los Angeles Lakers announced Friday that they hired Dr. Vannessa Brooks as their head athletic trainer. Brooks spent the last five years with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where she did a commendable job helping players maintain peak physical ability throughout the season.

The Thunder saw just one major name depart this offseason: potential future NBA All-Star Josh Giddey. But even that may not have been the team’s biggest loss before the start of the 2024-25 season.

Thunder see their trainer depart

Brooks became the first black woman to hold dual athletic training and physical therapy certification. Before joining Oklahoma City, she completed her doctorate from Emory University in Atlanta. She then spent time on the Duke Blue Devils staff.

The experienced trainer helped the Thunder stay remarkably healthy a season ago when the team won an impressive 57 games, the most since the 2015-16 season. The Blue and Orange escaped the injury bug all year, from the bottom of the roster to stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams. All three players played at least 70 games in 2023.

Brooks will now continue her career with the Lakers, who shuffled their coaching staff this offseason, beginning with the hiring of former Duke superstar and NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick. L.A. has been one of the routinely banged-up teams in the association in recent years. They appear to have found the right person to help keep LeBron James — who turns 40 in December — in peak condition as he ages.

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