“I knew my goal was to work in the NBA,” said Vanessa Brooks, who created history, by coming into one of the biggest sporting leagues. After a 5-year-long journey with the Oklahoma City Thunder, working as an athletic trainer and physical therapist. Now, in the wake of new leadership under JJ Redick, Brooks has joined hands with the Los Angeles Lakers for the upcoming fresh season. The renounced physical therapist will not only bring her talent but also her noteworthy cultural significance to the team.

One of the important teams in the NBA side is the medical team. Given the nature of the sport, players often have to deal with injuries. Especially, the Lakers with two senior talents LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the staff have to work round the clock to keep them healthy.

Not to forget, King James reportedly spends approximately $1.5 million on his body every year, which includes diet, workouts, trainers, therapists, and plenty more. Now that we have established the significance of a physical therapist on the side, let’s find out more about Vanessa Brooks.

“Basketball did not like me” – Vanessa Brooks’ rugged path into physical therapy

Before we head into Brooks’ tough odyssey into the professional realm, it’s important to address her remarkable feat. In 2019, when the OKC Thunder hired her, she became the first black woman, who was dually certified as both an athletic trainer and physical therapist. To put things into perspective, one has to look at the numbers. As reported by Essence, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) had  34,635 members between the years 2003 and 2016, out of which women accounted for only 2%-4%. It’s truly a commendable feat in an industry dominated by men.

Nevertheless, heading back to Vanessa Brooks’ journey, it’s the circumstances that pushed her into this field. Originally, she wanted to be an athlete, but a grave mishap turned everything upside down. Born to Tony and Jackie, Brooks grew up in Miramar, Florida hoops fan. “I always liked basketball… Unfortunately, basketball did not like me,” said Brooks who tore her ACL, MCL, and meniscus while playing AAU Ball in high school.

Speaking of the disaster, she said, “That’s when I found out a lot more about physical therapy,” and went on to tear her ACL again during her tryouts at Georgia. These repeated injuries piqued her interest in learning more about physical therapy. And, that wasn’t the end of the tale. Brooks decided to take it seriously when her mother had a stroke and paralyzed the left side of her body. “The mental toughness for her to then recover was something that also pushed me to physical therapy,” added Vanessa Brooks.

The professional journey

Following the catastrophe, Brooks began to equip herself professionally as a physical therapist. She started as a student trainer at Georgio working with the women’s football, basketball, and volleyball teams. Following that, she pursued physical therapy at Emory and worked as the head athletic trainer at the Maynard Jackson High School in Atlanta.

Before the call-up from Donnie Strack, the Thunder Vice President of Human and Player performance, she worked in an Atlanta hospital taking care of orthopedic trauma. And, boom, her dream came true, she entered the league as an athletic trainer and physical therapist. While she was spotted in the front row of the Thunder’s bench for the last few seasons, we will see her in the Lakers’ bench from now on.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.