On Monday, August 26, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (RGV), the NBA G League affiliate of the Houston Rockets, announced that Joseph Blair will be their new head coach for the upcoming 2024-25 season. The news was first reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
“Blair has been an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards since 2021,” Scotto writes of Blair’s career. “He previously served as an assistant with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers. Blair won a title as RGV’s coach in the 2018-19 season.”
A former player, Blair, who stands 6’2″, was selected by Seattle in the second round of the 1996 NBA draft before playing more than a decade internationally.
Since 2015, he has embarked on a coaching career that has included three years (2015-18) as an assistant at RGV; one year (2018-19) as the head coach at RGV; and five as an NBA assistant (2019-24).
Kevin Burleson, who coached the Vipers each of the last two seasons, has accepted an assistant coaching position with the Detroit Pistons earlier this offseason. Burleson led the Vipers to the Western Conference championship in 2023, and he spent time coaching Rockets rookies Cam Whitmore and (for a limited time) Amen Thompson during the following 2023-24 campaign.
RGV schedule and roster for the 2024-25 season, which could include some members current Rocketswill be released in the coming weeks.
More:Houston Rockets 2024-25 Full Schedule and Broadcast Information
