By OU Media Relations
NORMAN – University of Oklahoma men’s basketball head coach Porter Moser announced Friday the addition of Josh Oppenheimer to the staff as an assistant coach.
Oppenheimer brings more than 15 years of NBA and NCAA DI experience to the program, including stints with the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets.
“I am excited to have Josh join the program and use his wealth of NBA and college experience to help develop our student-athletes,” Moser said. “He has a relentless work ethic on the court to develop players and has been instrumental in the development of one of the best basketball players in the world. He won an NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks and has been a winner every step of the way as a college basketball coach.”
Oppenheimer recently completed his second stint with the Milwaukee Bucks, serving as an assistant coach and helping the team win the 2021 NBA Championship and four Central Division titles. During his time in Milwaukee, he was responsible for player development and on-court coaching, including significant time spent developing and nurturing NBA All-Star and 2021 NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished second in the league in points per game twice during Oppenheimer’s four years with the Bucks. In 2023-24, Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the regular season, finishing with 57 double-doubles and 10 triple-doubles in 73 regular-season starts.
“Coach Moser is one of the preeminent coaches in America today, and I look forward to working with him to develop our student-athletes,” Oppenheimer said. “The University of Oklahoma has rich athletic traditions and a history of great coaches such as Moser, Lon Kruger, Kelvin Sampson and Billy Tubbs. I am excited to be a part of that history and make a positive contribution to the coaches, players and program. My family and I are thrilled to join the OU family.”
In 2022, he served as an assistant coach for the Greek men’s national team for EuroBasket. Antetokounmpo, whom Oppenheimer directly helped with his preparation, finished as the tournament’s top scorer.
Prior to his sophomore campaign with Milwaukee, Oppenheimer served as an assistant coach at James Madison in 2019-20, developing All-CAA guard Matt Lewis and 1,000-point scorer Darius Burks.
He spent one season as an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets (2017–18) and Houston Rockets (2016–17) after his first stint with the Bucks, spending three seasons as an assistant coach.
Before starting in the NBA, Oppenheimer founded Excel Basketball in 2008 and led the company for five years. He developed and led daily shooting, skills and conditioning sessions for NBA, WNBA, European and college basketball players, including Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Ben Gordon.
While leading Excel Basketball, he was the lead clinician for the Nike Skills Academy for Girls (2009-2014) and a player development and pre-draft skills coach for Priority Sports & Entertainment (2008-2013). Oppenheimer also worked with Deng and Gordon as a personal player development coach.
From 2005 to 2007, he served as an assistant head coach at Kent State, helping the Golden Flashes win the regular season and 2006 MAC Tournament championships and make the NCAA Tournament. Oppenheimer developed Deandre Haynes and Jay Youngblood, who earned MAC Player of the Year and First Team All-MAC honors, respectively. Oklahoma assistant coach Armon Gates played at KSU for two seasons under Oppenheimer.
Prior to his time with the Golden Flashes, he spent three seasons (2002-05) as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at DePaul, helping the Blue Demons to three playoff appearances and the 2004 Conference USA regular season championship.
From 2000 to 2002, Oppenheimer served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Delaware, and he began his college career at Duquesne, serving as an assistant coach for the 1999-2000 season.
Oppenheimer played collegiately at Northern Arizona (1989–91) and Rhode Island (1987–89). He played professionally in the USBL, NBA Summer League, CBA, Israel Premier Basketball League, Polish Premier League, EuroLeague, and the United States Select Team.
