Brooklyn Nets have fired their head coach Jacque Vaughn, with assistant coach Kevin Ollie, now stepping in as a potential replacement, find out more about him and his wife
While the Nets are still yet to decide on their next candidate for the head coach role Kevin is a top prospect for the role.
Who is Kevin Ollie Brooklyn Nets interim head coach, bio, age, wife, coaching record, stats and teams played for
ESPN Sources: The Brooklyn Nets are promoting assistant Kevin Ollie to interim head coach. He’ll run practice on Tuesday and start coaching on Thursday vs. the Toronto Raptors. pic.twitter.com/oNb0YLwFF2
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 19, 2024
Some words of inspiration by new Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie: pic.twitter.com/2YbqBuHqTs
— The Joesen One (@Joe_Martin13) February 20, 2024
Interestingly, outgoing head coach Jacque Vaughn hired Kevin Ollie as an assistant back in 2023, who is now a top candidate to become the interim coach.
Kevin Ollie bio
Kevin Jermaine Ollie is an American basketball coach who was born on December 27, 1972 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He was born to parents, Dorothy Ollie, and Fletcher Ollie and was a former player before he started coaching. While Kevin currently serves as the assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, he is also a potential candidate to becoming their next head coach after the team fired Jacque Vaughn.
Age and height
Kevin Ollie is currently 51 years old and stands at a height of 1.88 m.
Wife and children
Kevin was married to his long-time wife, Stephanie Ollie, from 1998 to 2015. The couple has two children together, named Jalen Ollie and Cheyenne Ollie.
Kevin Ollie career highlights
Before becoming a full-time basketball coach, Ollie enjoyed a 13-year NBA career. During those 13 years, he played for a total of 11 different franchises. He played for teams like the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks, and New Jersey Nets. Kevin Ollie retired as a player in 2010, aged 37, playing his final stint with the OKC Thunder. During his final season, he played for just 25 games. Throughout his playing career, Ollie had an average of 3.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Just one year after the end of his playing career, Ollie started coaching as an assistant for UConn. Ollie had briefly attended the school from 1991-1995 previously before going professional. After working for two years as an assistant, Ollie got promoted to head coach, working in the role until 2018. He then took a brief hiatus from his career, and returned to coaching in 2021 with Overtime Elite. Ollie coached the program for two years before returning to the NBA in 2023 as an assistant coach for the Nets.
Ollie compiled 113 wins (113-61, .649) in his first five seasons at UConn Huskies, already on the all-time list of UConn coaching victories and that includes a sparkling 7-1 record in the NCAA Tournament, an .875 winning percentage that ranked fourth all-time. He guided the Huskies to the 2014 NCAA Championship, the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championship and along the way coached players selected All-American, Final Four Most Outstanding Player, Conference Player of the Year, Conference Rookie of the Year, Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Scholar-Athlete, and numerous all-tournament and all-conference selections.
Overall, Ollie had a 97–79 record during his years with UConn.
In the summer of 2016, Ollie gained coaching experience on the international level when he was asked by USA Basketball to be part of the coaching staff for the USA Men’s U18 National Team, which captured the gold medal at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Valdivia.
Other potential head coach candidates from Nets coaching staff
Aside from Ollie, there are several other members of the Nets’ coaching staff that could potentially serve as the team’s head coach. These include Will Weaver, Jay Hernandez, Ronnie Burrell, and Corey Vinson. Notably, all of them serve as assistants and have had their fair share of experience serving as interim coaches. Prior to working as an assistant to Vaughn, Weaver served as a head coach for the Nets’ G-League affiliate. During his time there, he led the Long Island Nets to the G-League Finals while also receiving the Coach of the Year honors.
Hernandez, on the other hand, served as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets for five years before joining the Nets. He also briefly served as a head coach in the G-League. Meanwhile, Burrell played four years in college, and had a full 11-year professional career overseas. Following that, he served as the head coach for the Long Island Nets before joining the Brooklyn Nets. Vinson, on the other hand is currently in his first season with the Nets and previously spent his last three years as an assistant for the Phoenix Suns.