Kevin Durant’s current team is raiding the cupboard of his former team.
The Houston Rockets are hiring Chip Engelland to serve as an assistant coach, Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Wednesday. Charania adds that Engelland is well-regarded as a player development coach and as a shooting coach.
Engelland, 65, is a cult figure who is indeed renowned for his impressive history when to comes to developing players’ shooting abilities. He has over two-and-a-half decades of experience as an NBA assistant coach, spanning stints on the Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, and (most recently) the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The best work from Engelland came when he was with the Spurs from 2005-22. He was a key assistant on the San Antonio team that won NBA championships in 2007 and in 2014 and was credited with developing the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker, Dejounte Murray, and others as jump shooters.
Engelland then left to join the staff of the Thunder in 2022. Working closely with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and more, Engelland’s coaching talents help lead Oklahoma City to another championship in 2025.
Now in Houston, Engelland will be reunited with Rockets head coach Ime Udoka (who used to be a Spurs player and assistant coach himself). He will be tasked with helping improve the shooting abilities of Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, Tari Eason, etc. and adds to what has already been an impressive summer haul for Houston.
