Jordan Ott was with the Nets from 2016 to 2022, beginning his tenure as part of Kenny Atkinson’s coaching staff. Ott’s career has taken him from the Hawks to the Nets, Lakers, and Cavaliers before ending up with the Suns. https://t.co/Zaxuzuv3QD

— Sharif Phillips-Keaton (@SharifKeaton) June 4, 2025

Former Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Jordan Ott spent most of his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Nets before he took his talent to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Ott initially began his tenure in Brooklyn as part of Kenny Atkinson’s coaching staff and it looks like being with Atkinson got him his first head-coaching gig.

Ott was hired by the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday to be their next head coach, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. As Charania mentioned in his post on X reporting the news, Ott has been a coach in the NBA in some capacity since 2013 when he began his career as a video coordinator for the Atlanta Hawks under head coach Mike Budenholzer, who was just fired by the Suns.

After leaving the Hawks following the conclusion of the 2015-26 season, Ott came to the Nets where he was an assistant under Kenny Atkinson and remained in that role until the end of the 2021-22 campaign. Even though Atkinson is the one who brought Ott onboard initially, he remained on the coaching staff even after Atkinson’s firing and was an assistant for Steve Nash and Jacque Vaughn.

From 2022 to 2024, Ott was an assistant for the Lakers under head coach Darvin Ham as the team made it to the playoffs in both seasons, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals during the 2022-23 season. Ott spent the 2024-25 NBA season with the Cavaliers as an assistant under Atkinson and Cleveland went on to have the second-best win-loss record in franchise history.

During his time with the Nets, Ott was well-respected by everyone in the organization due to his ability to adapt to multiple coaching staffs while also being asked to handle different roles under Nash (h/t NetsDaily). Among other duties, Ott was the offensive coordinator for the Nets during Nash’ tenure and plenty of media members on Brooklyn’s beat at the time acknowledged how hard Ott’s job was at the time.