The G-League Austin Spurs (who will forever be the D-League Austin Toros in my curmudgeon mind) announced Chris Kent as their new head coach. He is the 12th head coach in franchise history.
Kent has extensive experience at multiple levels of the sport. A standout player for Angola High School, he graduated in 2009 before and played college ball
for two seasons apiece at Huntington University and Trine University. He graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science. His self-designed degree in General Studies focused on Sport and Fitness Administration.
From 2013-2015 he served as an intern to the G-League Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
He served as a graduate assistant at South Florida from 2015 to 2017 while obtaining his Masters degree in Sports Management. Kent was then named director of player development at South Florida for the 2017-18 season.
In 2018, he joined the Chicago Bulls as a coaching intern before being promoted to video coordinator in 2019. Kent maintained the position for three seasons before moving over to the staff of their G-League affiliate Windy City Bulls as an assistant coach in 2022.
The following year he joined the coaching staff for the Rip City Remix from 2023-25.
Last season, Kent returned to South Florida as an assistant coach.
He now joins a distinguished list of head coaches to serve in Austin. He is replacing Jacob Chance after Chance was appointed head coach of Melbourne United.
Of the former Austin Spurs head coaches Scott King (who was named the 2024-2025 G-League Coach of the Year) and Matt Nielsen are currently assistants with San Antonio Spurs under Mitch Johnson, himself a former Austin Spurs assistant.
Since 2007, the Spurs have had the affiliate development team in Austin. The position offers some prestige as many former coaches have transitioned into the NBA. Most notably, Quin Snyder (2007-2010) who is the current head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. He was the head coach for the Utah Jazz from 2014-2022.
Brad Jones (2010-2012), who coached the Toros to a D-League Championship in 2012 is currently an assistant with the Bucks. Taylor Jenkins (2012-2013) was recently named the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks. He previously spent seven seasons as the head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. And Blake Ahearn (2017-2020), head coach of the Austin Spurs 2018 title, serves as an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The G-Lague Spurs have been utilized well over the years to support the growth of young players. Cory Joseph, Derrick White, Dejounte Murray, Tre Jones, and Keldon Johnson have all credited Austin as a key factor in their evolution.
Kent may have the opportunity to work with the fledgling Spurs 2026 draft picks Jayden Quaintance, Tarris Reed, Jr., Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Maliq Brown as they mature and anticipate minutes in San Antonio.
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