Ex-NBA Champion, 14-Year Veteran Joins Nuggets Coaching Staff

JJ Barea is a fan favorite amongst Dallas Mavericks fans. After becoming a Centrobasket MVP in both 2008 and 2016, and winning an NBA title with the Mavericks in a remarkable run in 2011, Barea has carved out a successful post-playing career.

Barea retired in 2021 and immediately became a Player Development Coach for the Dallas Mavericks, while also lending his support to his native country of Puerto Rico in multiple roles.

History has a funny way of repeating itself.

In 2011, it was J.J. Barea: the undersized, underestimated Mavs guard who became the X-factor nobody saw coming.

🔹Game 5: 17 points, 5 assists
🔹Game 6: 15 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists

The man pulling the strings on the sideline?… pic.twitter.com/1uoYTAOhfV
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 20, 2025

Barea was the head coach of Indios de Mayagüez in the BSN (Puerto Rican league) in 2017, the General Manager of Grises de Humacao in the BSN, and the head coach of Mets de Guaynabo for the 2024 and part of the 2025 season, before being let go in May of 2025.

Now, Barea is being added to an NBA team with a new head coach in Denver, according to ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania.

David Adelman was an assistant in Minnesota under his dad, Rick, when JJ Barea played for the Timberwolves. Adelman reached out to recruit Barea, who had been a head coach in the Puerto Rican league. https://t.co/3rpMO7cc2Z
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) July 1, 2025

"JJ Barea, a 2011 NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks, has agreed to join the Denver Nuggets as an assistant coach under David Adelman, sources tell ESPN. Barea will be on the front of the Nuggets coaching bench."

Barea will be a top assistant for new head coach David Adelman after the Nuggets fired Michael Malone shortly before the regular season ended in 2025.

JJ Barea, a 2011 NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks, has agreed to join the Denver Nuggets as an assistant coach under David Adelman, sources tell ESPN. Barea will be on the front of the Nuggets coaching bench.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2025

As the Nuggets enter a fresh era with Adelman at the helm, Michael Porter Jr. now traded to the Brooklyn Nets, and Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, and Jonas Valanciunas added to the team, Barea will be a critical piece of the coaching staff.

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