What do JJ Redick and Lindsey Harding have in common? Apart from joining the revamped Lakers coaching setup, both are Duke alumni. Jeanie Buss will hope the additions will revive his franchise after the disappointment of last season.  He was gone and made another key appointment to the backroom staff making the Duke connection at the Los Angeles Lakers stronger.

Starting from the head coach position, Buss has spent the offseason in reshaping the Lakers. Alongside Redick, the bench at Lakers will have an entirely new staff with no previous assistants retained. While we have not seen any big-name free agents arrive at the Crypto.com Arena, there will be many new faces on the bench and behind the scenes. The latest acquisition is former Oklahoma City Thunder physical therapist, Dr. Vanessa Brooks.

The Purple and Gold has hired Vanessa Brooks as their new head athletic trainer and senior physical therapist, announcing the decision on Friday 27 September. The position became available earlier this month after the Lakers’ then-head athletic trainer, Roger Sancho, left the team for the Phoenix Suns. Sancho held the position for three years.

Thunder have maintained a near-perfect bill of health over the last two seasons and Brooks’s stock has been high due to it. She joined the Thunder in 2019 as a physical therapist and athletic trainer. Her work with the OKC players that helped them handle the grueling 82-plus game season deserves appreciation as the franchise topped the Western Conference. This could be part of the reason why Buss went for her., given how injuries have affected the Lakers over the years.

While teams in the West suffered from constant changes in their lineups, the Thunder, who notched up 57 wins last season, competed at a high level, thanks to the fitness and health of its key players. Even before joining the NBA franchise, she had an extensive body of work, being an undergrad from Georgia. She has a doctorate from Emory University in Atlanta and did sports medicine work at Duke.

After joining the Thunder, Brooks became the first Black woman in the NBA to be dual-certified as an athletic trainer and physical therapist. But she left her role earlier this year in July after a stint of five years. This provided the perfect opportunity for the Lakers to add Brooks to their medical staff. Vanessa has also been a part-time member of the NBA Emergency Preparedness Committee since last year and continues to hold that position.

This marks another high-profile staff arrival at the Lakers with an aim to do better than last season’s first-round playoff exit. Redick will be working with former head coaches Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan alongside Greg St. Jean, Lindsey Harding, Bob Beyer, and Beau Levesque.

Scott Brooks has spent 12 years in the NBA as a head coach and made the playoffs with the Thunder in five of seven years, including the Finals in 2011. He also led the Wizards to the postseason in three of the five seasons he spent as HC there. McMillan has 19 years of experience as head coach in the league with Seattle SuperSonics, Portland Trail Blazers, Indiana Pacers, and the Atlanta Hawks.

St. Jean worked with Frank Vogel as an assistant coach at the Lakers for two seasons before leaving to join the Dallas Mavericks to work under Jason Kidd. He reunited with Vogel last season when the latter was hired by the Phoenix Suns as HC. Harding was the G League Coach of the Year for the Stockton Kings and has long been admired by JJ Redick.

Bob Beyer has worked as an assistant coach in the NBA for 17 years with nine different franchises. Beau Levesque, hired as a development coach, worked with the Brooklyn Nets in a player development and video role before becoming a player development coordinator/assistant video coordinator for the Clippers.

Moreover, Vanessa Brooks is not the first piece in the Lakers’ revamping of their medical staff. Just last month, Buss hired Dr. Leroy Sims as the team’s Director of Player Performance and Health. And together, they will have a huge responsibility to keep the Lakers roster healthy in their title pursuit.

Vanessa Brooks’ transition from Oklahoma to LA could pose a massive challenge

With Brooks’ experience as a trainer and therapist, hiring her was a smart move by Jeanie. However, it could come with some major challenges for the new Head Athletic Trainer. During Brook’s time at the Thunder, she was responsible for taking care of the health of one of the youngest teams in the league. Last season, OKC had the second-youngest squad behind the Spurs. Sure enough, it means they did not have to worry a lot about players suffering from lingering injuries as younger players tend to get injured less often and recover fast.

However, the scenario with the Lakers will be different. LeBron James is the oldest active player in the league and Anthony Davis has history of frequent injuries. Brooks will likely need to be more careful about keeping the two superstars healthy and available. One thing certainly working in her favor is that both LeBron James and Anthony Davis are coming off highly healthy seasons, playing 71 and 76 games, respectively.

Meanwhile, key players including Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt are coming off major injuries that limited their play last season. So, Brooks also has that to worry about. Vanessa’s role with the Lakers is similar to what she had in OKC. However, she could face different challenges in LA.

Do you think she can overcome them and contribute to the team’s success? Let us know in the comments.