Wizards announce assistant coaching staff

The Washington Wizards announced today the following coaching staff updates:

Adam Caporn, Wizards lead assistant
Patrick Ewing, Wizards assistant coach
Cody Toppert, Wizards assistant coach
Steve Clifford, Wizards coaching advisor
Tevon Saddler, Capital City Go-Go head coach/Wizards assistant coach
T.J. Sorrentine, Las Vegas Summer League head coach

Caporn moves to lead assistant on Keefe’s bench as he enters his third season with the team. The Baldivis, Australia, native was named head coach of the Australian Men’s National Team in March 2025, and has served over 10 years with Australia Basketball as an assistant coach with the National Team (2017-present) and as head coach of the U19 National Team (2014-16). Caporn spent three seasons in the Brooklyn Nets organization as an assistant coach (2022-24) and the head coach of the Long Island Nets (2021-22).

Ewing joins Keefe’s staff as an assistant coach after most recently serving as the head coach of Georgetown from 2017-2023. Following an illustrious NBA career, which saw him voted to 11 All-Star games and seven All-NBA teams as a member of the New York Knicks, Ewing began his coaching career as an assistant with the Wizards in 2002. After serving in assistant roles with the Houston Rockets (2003-07), Orlando Magic (2007-12), and Charlotte Bobcats (2013-17), Ewing was named the head coach of his alma mater Georgetown in 2017. The Kingston, Jamaica, native was named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team in 1996 and the 75th Anniversary Team in 2022.

Toppert joins Keefe’s bench in a full-time role after spending the previous three seasons as the head coach of the Capital City Go-Go. Toppert amassed an 85-65 (.567) record in his tenure with Capital City, leading the team to three-consecutive playoff appearances and two G League Showcases. He led Capital City to a franchise-record 31 wins in 2024-25 and coached 13 different players to NBA call-ups.

Clifford served as a coaching advisor with the Phoenix Suns in 2025-26 and comes to Washington with over 40 years of coaching experience. After nearly 20 years at the high school and collegiate level, Clifford took his first NBA coaching role as an assistant with the New York Knicks from 2001-03. The Newport, Vermont, native served as an assistant with the Houston Rockets (2003-07), Orlando Magic (2007-12), and Los Angeles Lakers (2012-13), before taking his first head coaching job with the Charlotte Bobcats (later Hornets) from 2013-18. Clifford spent three seasons as head coach of the Magic (2018-21) before returning to Charlotte from 2022-24.

Saddler becomes the fifth head coach in Go-Go history, coming to Capital City after spending the last three seasons as the head coach of Nicholls State University. At the time of his hiring in 2023, Saddler was the youngest active Division I head coach in the country. He was named a 2024 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Finalist (top 1st-year head coach) after leading Nicholls State to 20 wins, the most by a first-year coach in school history. Saddler led the Colonels to their first back-to-back 20-win seasons in program history and accumulated an overall record of 54-46 (.540) in his tenure.

Sorrentine has spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach on Brian Keefe’s staff and will be the head coach at NBA Summer League for the first time in his career. He spent 16 seasons on the Brown University coaching staff as an assistant coach and served as the associate head coach from 2011 until joining Washington in 2024. A member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame and the University of Vermont Hall of Fame, Sorrentine played professionally for three seasons in Slovenia, Portugal, Italy, and the then NBA D-League.

David Vanterpool transitions to a basketball operations role in the front office after serving as a Wizards assistant coach the past three seasons.

Author: Inside Hoops

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