Clippers before the 1998–99 season but sat out due to a right knee injury. The Clippers waived Brooks on February 19, 1999, re-signed him, then released Brooks in October 1999, during the 1999–2000 preseason. Coaching career Brooks joined the Los Angeles Stars of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 2000–01, where he was both a player and an assistant coach. Seattle SuperSonics / Oklahoma City Thunder (2007–2015) After serving as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets, Brooks was named an assistant to P. J. Carlesimo with the Seattle SuperSonics before the 2007–08 season, and followed the team to Oklahoma City as the Thunder after that season. When Carlesimo was fired on November 22, 2008; Brooks was named interim coach for the rest of the season. On April 22, 2009, the Thunder named him the 15th head coach in the Sonics/Thunder history. Brooks got off to one of the best starts for a rookie head coach in recent NBA history. He led the Thunder to the playoffs in his first five full seasons with the team. He was named the 2009–10 NBA Coach of the Year after leading the Thunder to a 50-win season and the 8th seed in the Western Conference for the playoffs, a 28-win increase over the previous season. On February 11, 2012, Brooks was named the Western Conference All-Star Coach for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, Florida. In the shortened 66-game 2011–12 season, he led the Thunder to the NBA Finals, where they eventually lost to the 2012 NBA Champions, the Miami Heat. In the 2012 offseason, the Thunder signed Brooks to a multi-year head coaching contract reportedly worth about $18 million. On January 29, 2014, Brooks was named the Western Conference All-Star Coach for the 2014 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. On April 22, 2015, Brooks was fired by the Thunder a week after the team missed the playoffs for the first time in his six full seasons as head coach. He left as the coach with the third-most wins in the Sonics/Thunder history, behind only Lenny Wilkens and George Karl. It was reported by Adrian Wojnarowski in May that Brooks did not wish to interview for other coaching opportunities for the 2015–16 season, instead desiring to take a break and reconnect with family living in California. Washington Wizards (2016–2021) On April 26, 2016, Brooks was hired by the