The Houston Rockets have hired Joseph Blair as head coach of their NBA G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Blair, 50, was the 35th overall pick in the 1996 draft after playing college basketball at Arizona. Although he never played in an NBA regular season game, the 6’10” forward/center had a successful international career, winning EuroLeague MVP in 2002-03.
This is Blair’s second stint with the Vipers; he was an assistant coach from 2015 to 2018 before leading the team to a championship as head coach in 2018-19.
Recently, Blair served as an assistant coach with Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Washington, spending the last three seasons with the Wizards before being let go in April. He also interviewed for Milwaukee’s head coaching job in 2023.