The Rockets have hired Joseph Blair as head coach of their NBA G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced (Twitter link). Michael Scotto of HoopsHype was first to report the news (via Twitter).
Blair, 50, played four years of college basketball at Arizona prior to being selected No. 35 overall back in 1996. While he never played an NBA regular season game, the 6’10” big man had a long and productive international career, including winning EuroLeague regular season MVP in 2002/03.
This is Blair’s second stint with the Vipers. He previously served as an assistant for three years (from 2015-18) prior to being promoted to head coach and won a title while leading RGV during the 2018/19 campaign.
Over the past five years, Blair has been an assistant coach with Philadelphia, Minnesota and Washington. He spent the past three seasons with the Wizards before he was let go in April. Blair also interviewed for Milwaukee’s head coaching job in 2023.
Kevin Burleson, who was the Vipers’ head coach the past two seasons, is being hired by the Pistons as an assistant coach under J.B. Bickerstaff.