Life’s timing, redemption, and the power of Kevin Ollie’s voice

NEW YORK — While anything can happen on any given night in the NBA, and some teams may have major advantages over others on paper, the games still have to be played on the court.

The Nets overlooked an undermanned Charlotte Hornets team that was playing without All-Star LaMelo Ball and No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller on Nov. 30, and suffered a disappointing 129-128 loss at Barclays Center.

Brooklyn players and coaches knew they had no business losing a game like that, let alone on their home court. It proved to be their only defeat between Nov. 25 and Dec. 8, tarnishing what could have been a seven-game winning streak for the Nets.

Many within the organization were frustrated by the loss, and rightfully so. But ahead of the Nets’ next game against the Orlando Magic on Dec. 2, assistant Kevin Ollie decided to take matters into his own hands.

The Magic entered as the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference. Until that point, Brooklyn had struggled to defeat some of the NBA’s elite regardless of conference, with losses to Cleveland, Dallas, Boston and Milwaukee.

Ollie knew the Nets could not afford to come out flat against a team as talented as Orlando. So ahead of tipoff, he reportedly delivered an inspiring locker room speech.

“The coaches were pissed off and so were we after that Charlotte [loss] and let it be known,” Mikal Bridges said. “Coming in the next day, they were just fired up and ready for the next game knowing that game was unacceptable. So they just had us all locked in and [Coach Ollie], that’s just how he is as a coach, too. He’s really forceful at getting you motivated and ready for the game, so we definitely needed it.”

Ollie’s message to the team that night was never revealed publicly. But whatever it was, it worked. The Nets were locked in at both ends of the court from start to finish and Bridges embodied that focus. The 6-foot-6 forward poured in a career-best 26 points in the first quarter, had an NBA season-high 34 points in the first half, and finished with 42 points in Brooklyn’s 129-101 blowout win over one of the better teams in the league.

When players spoke to the media after the game, and during the practice that followed, it quickly became clear that it was Ollie’s words that gave them a spark.

“You love it,” Cam Johnson said. “And we responded to it. I thought it was a great scout, a great message by him to get us ready for the game.”

Ollie, 50, in the midst of his first season as Jacque Vaughn’s assistant in Brooklyn. It is not disrespectful to say that he is not the coaching commodity he once was. But make no mistake, this is far from his first rodeo in the game of basketball. And his voice has continued to carry weight regardless of the level he is at.

Once a solid college basketball player at UConn, Ollie played 13 years in the NBA, then hung a banner as the head coach at his alma mater in 2014 after succeeding Jim Calhoun.

Ollie’s fall from grace with the Huskies has been well-documented. The NCAA cited numerous violations within his program that ultimately led to his firing in 2018. But he rebounded with a new gig as head of coaching and basketball development for an upstart Overtime Elite league in 2021. A longtime relationship with Vaughn played a central role in him landing his latest job last summer.

“I’ve known this dude for a long time,” Vaughn said of Ollie. “He’s a couple of years older than me, but his high school was nine blocks from my high school. I played against him as a ninth grader. So I got a chance to connect with him when he was with [Overtime Elite] and I got a chance during one of the Atlanta games to go watch his kids over there. And [the rest was] life’s timing.”

Despite how things ultimately ended for Ollie at UConn, he remained a popular coaching name in different NBA circles. He was reportedly in the conversation for the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coaching job in 2014. He was even a finalist for the Detroit Pistons’ head coaching vacancy before the franchise hired Monty Williams last summer.

However, when all else fell through, it was Vaughn who gave Ollie the chance to return to the NBA this season. His fit with the Nets has been seamless by all accounts, and his coaching style has offered a welcomed change of pace compared to Vaughn and others on his staff.

“He’s a guy that’s played at the highest level who has won championships,” Spencer Dinwiddie said. “Sometimes you just need that other voice, that kind of stern voice. Everybody has an uncle that might be on him a little bit tougher than his pops, right? You kind of tune out your pops sometimes, right? But your uncle steps in and keeps you on track. So I think it’s kind of that vibe.”

Vaughn has always known what Ollie has been capable of as a coach. Now he is getting to showcase it at the highest level possible, and his presence is making a significant impact for the Nets this season.

“I’m fortunate to have a great staff and he’s a dude that’s a part of that,” Vaughn said of Ollie. “I let these guys be who they are. And so someone’s pregame might be a little different than another guy’s. So being who you are, trying to bring the best out of our team, and he did a great job of doing that against Orlando, for sure.”