Report: Summer League Champion Could Join Knicks

The dog days of the NBA summer could yield the New York Knicks' next assistant coach.

Per Frank Isola of ESPN and YES Network, the Knicks have looked into hiring Chris Jent to be the team's "offensive coordinator." Isola named Jent the "leading candidate" for the role as the quest to complete Mike Brown's staff continues.

Jent, 55, is fresh off a championship run, having guided the Charlotte Hornets' prospects to a Summer League title last month. He played half of his six career NBA games with the Knicks in 1997, making three showings that tallied six points. Jent also earned a championship ring against the Knicks, as he was a part of the Houston Rockets' 1994 title club.

Hornets assistant coach Chris Jent has emerged as the leading candidate to join Mike Brown’s Knicks staff as offensive coordinator. Jent, who played one season for the Knicks, recently coached the Hornets to the Summer League title.
— Frank Isola (@TheFrankIsola) August 3, 2025

Since his eventful playing career, which featured several overseas accolades, ended, Jent has been an NBA sideline staple since 2003, current serving as an assistant on Charles Lee's staff in Charlotte. Jent has been a head coach twice, serving at the helm of the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA D-League in 2015-16. That followed an 18-game stint as the interim boss of the Orlando Magic after Johnny Davis was fired.

Jent has gained a strong reputation for his work with LeBron James, serving as his personal shooting coach during his early prime with the Cleveland Cavaliers before reuniting with the Los Angeles Lakers between 2022-24. Under his partial watch, James became the all-time scoring leader in NBA history.

"The main part of my philosophy is to breed confidence in players," Jent said in a feature from Taylor Geas of the Lakers' official site. "I think that everyone has to feel good when they’re out on the floor whether it be information—they feel well informed—but also just their game, whatever they do out there on the floor they feel confident in any element they can perform.”

The Knicks continue to fill Brown's staff with both newcomers and holdovers from Tom Thibodeau's primary regime. The primary addition to date has been longtime Los Angeles Clippers assistant Brendan O'Connor, who is reportedly set to supervise the Knicks' defensive antics.

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