Thunder Announces Coaching Staff Update

<p>The OKC Thunder has named Adrian Griffin as assistant coach and promoted Vin Bhavnani and Royal Ivey to assistant coaches, it was announced today by Sam Presti. &nbsp;</p>

Friday, July 1st 2016, 5:47 pm

By: News 9


The Oklahoma City Thunder has named Adrian Griffin as assistant coach and promoted Vin Bhavnani and Royal Ivey to assistant coaches, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. 

“We’re pleased to welcome Adrian to Oklahoma City,” said Head Coach Billy Donovan. “In addition to his wealth of experience as a player and coach that will add value to our program, I also feel that he will be a terrific fit on our coaching staff, and I’m excited for him to join the Thunder organization.” 

Griffin joins Donovan’s staff after spending the 2015-16 season as an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic. Prior to last year, Griffin spent the five previous seasons (2010-15) as an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls.

His coaching experience dates back to 2008 where he served as assistant coach/player development for two seasons (2008-10) with the Milwaukee Bucks. During the summer of 2014, Griffin worked with the USA Basketball Men’s National Team that captured the gold medal at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

As a player, Griffin appeared in 477 career NBA games (179 starts) during nine seasons with Boston, Dallas, Houston, Chicago and Seattle, averaging 4.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 16.8 minutes. Griffin also played one season in Italy and three seasons in the CBA with Connecticut.

A native of Wichita, Kan., Griffin was a three-year starter at Seton Hall and as a senior won All-Big East Second Team honors after averaging 16.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game.

Bhavnani, an eight-year veteran of the club, has spent the past six seasons as its Manager of Advanced Scouting/Player Development after starting his career as the team’s Video Coordinator. Prior to joining the Thunder he spent two seasons as a video coordinator with the San Antonio Spurs. Bhavnani started his NBA career as a video intern with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Los Angeles, Calif., native spent one season as an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team at Santa Monica Junior College after graduating from the University of Southern California in 2003.

Ivey is being elevated to assistant coach after serving last season as a player development assistant with the Thunder.

After a four-year collegiate career at the University of Texas, Ivey enjoyed a 10-year NBA playing career in which he appeared in 492 games (114 starts) and averaged 3.3 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists. Ivey’s coaching career began during the 2014-15 season where he served as an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s D-League affiliate.

Mark Daigneault, who joined the Thunder staff earlier this year, will return to his role as head coach of the Oklahoma City Blue. Additionally, Daigneault will lead the Thunder entry in the 2016 Orlando Summer League.

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