The demands of the job never seem to stop. As an NBA coach, Scott Brooks stays wired through 82 regular season games, reacting to every blown call, broken possession and bad defensive play. He has managed those rigors since 2008, handling the job better than all of his peers when he was named the 2009-10 coach of the year.
The unseen challenge is how to remain that invested and yet manage to unplug from the volatility of life in a competitive arena — such as the Washington Wizards’ rock-bottom thud of losing by 47 points to the Utah Jazz in December to the ecstasy of the double-overtime win in Boston last week.
On Monday, Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Tyronn Lue unexpectedly announced he was taking a leave of absence to “focus on trying to establish a stronger and healthier foundation.” Lue, 40, steps away while his Cavaliers are in a struggle to maintain a high playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. Even so, Brooks supports Lue’s decision though it comes this late in the regular season.
“You hope that it’s nothing serious. The health is the most important; the game is secondary,” Brooks said. “It’s definitely a tough profession. It’s tough on all of us. All of our thoughts are with him. Hopefully he’s back soon, but like I said, health is so important.”
Lue is the third NBA coach to call a timeout in the middle of this season. In January, Dave Joerger felt lightheaded in the opening two minutes of a game and had to leave the Sacramento Kings’ sideline. Joerger missed one full game because of his medical scare. Earlier in the season, Charlotte Hornets Coach Steve Clifford sat out 21 games because of migraines.
Most notably, Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr missed most of the 2015-16 season as he recovered from the aftermath of back surgeries.
While the health factors vary, Brooks believes that coaches must take care of themselves. And a long time ago, Brooks decided he wouldn’t allow the game to swallow him up.
Brooks loved basketball and the thrill of competition, but as a player, he had allowed the game to control his emotional state. After big wins, life was wonderful. But if Brooks had a bad game, he felt the end was nigh. On those miserable nights, he would even give the silent treatment to his wife.
“I’m disappointed in myself, and it was too hard,” Brooks said, recalling his younger days. “It was too hard emotionally, and it’s not fair to your loved ones around you.”
[ Analysis: For the Cleveland Cavaliers, this season has just been one thing after another ]
By his fourth season in the NBA, when he felt established in his playing career, Brooks established new rules. He started by getting a good night of sleep (or trying to) and letting go of the stress once he left the court.
“I told myself I can’t live on the roller-coaster ride,” Brooks said. “If I played bad, I’m mad at the world. If I played great, then everybody’s great. So I told myself, no matter what happens during the game I have to remain the same off the court. And I’ve been living by that ever since.
“I don’t know if that has helped me,” Brooks continued, “but it’s helped my up and down: ‘Okay, we won, I feel great!’ ‘Aw, we lost. It’s the end of the world.’ ”
Besides reclaiming his emotions, Brooks has been aided by a healthy lifestyle. When he coached in Oklahoma City, Brooks and several staffers turned road trips into exercise adventures, forming jogging groups to run around the cities. Now, at 52, Brooks’s knees won’t allow that kind of pounding, but he’ll still walk whenever possible. On a recent trip to New Orleans, Brooks and his assistant coaches shunned the charter bus and walked back to the team hotel following the morning shoot-around. Brooks also still plays pick-up ball with Wizards assistants and team staffers.
“Get all of my anger out on them,” Brooks said.
The competitor in Brooks lives on. He’ll talk trash and take hard fouls. On Monday after practice, Brooks was caught rubbing his back because, he said, he had recently been hacked by assistant Ryan Richman. It’s just one of the ways Brooks tries to stay connected to life and not become consumed by the results on the court.
“It’s still not easy, but I try to live that the majority of the time, but there are times when it’s emotional. It’s hard,” Brooks said. “But you look at all these coaches and former NBA players with the health issues, you want to be there for your family.”
More on the Wizards and the NBA:
NBA players are addicted to their phones, but good luck getting them to unplug
The Wizards like the thought of facing the Pacers in the postseason
D.C. Sports Bog: Before his concert, Justin Timberlake drained shots on the Wizards’ practice court
