Pelicans Hire Ex-Washington Coach Mike Hopkins As Assistant

The Pelicans are adding a seasoned voice to their bench, hiring Mike Hopkins as an assistant coach and head of player development, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Hopkins spent last season with the Suns on Mike Budenholzer’s staff and now joins Willie Green in New Orleans. Before jumping to the NBA, Hopkins was the head coach at Washington from 2017-24. He compiled a 122-111 record and took the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament once.

Hopkins is best known for his time under Jim Boeheim at Syracuse, where he served as an assistant from 1995 to 2017. That included a short stint as Boeheim’s head-coach-in-waiting before Washington came calling.

He’ll now be part of a deep Pelicans coaching group that features associate head coach James Borrego, along with Jarron Collins, Casey Hill, Aaron Miles, Corey Brewer and Jodie Meeks.

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