The Los Angeles Lakers made a significant move on Friday by announcing that they have hired Dr. Vanessa Brooks as their new head athletic trainer. Brooks, a trailblazer in the NBA, previously served the Oklahoma City Thunder for five seasons. She made history as the first Black woman to be dual-certified as an athletic trainer and physical therapist.
Dr. Brooks, who was initiated into the Eta Beta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. in the spring of 2018, joined the Thunder in 2019. During her tenure, the team enjoyed commendable health.
With the Lakers’ history of injuries and an aging roster, the organization recognized the need for top-tier medical support. The departure of former head athletic trainer Roger Sancho, who left for the Phoenix Suns, created an opening that the Lakers filled with Brooks’ credentials.
While earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia, Dr. Brooks also served as a student trainer with the Bulldogs’ football, women’s basketball, volleyball, and equestrian teams. She earned her doctorate from Emory University. While studying at Emory, she balanced her studies with hands-on experience as the head athletic trainer at Maynard Jackson High School in Atlanta. She also contributed her talents at Duke University, where she worked in sports medicine—an institution renowned for its athletic programs and alma mater to current Lakers head coach J.J. Redick and assistant head coach Lindsey Harding.
Her extensive background includes working in an orthopedic trauma unit at an Atlanta hospital and Wake Forest University before joining the NBA.
