San Antonio Spurs Hiring Chris Kent as Austin G-League Coach

The San Antonio Spurs - coming off an NBA Finals appearance and hoping to add championshp-level talent throughout the organization - are hiring Chris Kent as head coach of the Austin Spurs, their G League affiliate, sources told HoopsHype's Michael Scotto on Thursday.

Kent has spent the past year as an assistant coach and director of player development at Florida State. Florida State coach Luke Loucks added him to his first Seminoles staff in 2025, and Kent was set to begin his second season in Tallahassee.

Last season, Florida State went 18-15 overall and 10-8 in ACC play. The Seminoles won seven of their final eight games and set a school record with five straight ACC road wins. No. 1 Duke ended their season in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, 80-79.

Robert McCray V made the All-ACC Third Team in voting by the league's coaches. In June, the Golden State Warriors took Lajae Jones with the 54th pick in the NBA Draft. Jones was the first player drafted out of Florida State under Loucks, and he averaged 12.7 points in his only season there after transferring from St. Bonaventure.

Loucks said after the draft that Jones "trusted our staff, system and player development plan throughout the season." Loucks spent six seasons in the Warriors organization.

Kent returned to Florida State after two seasons in Portland's system. From 2023 to 2025, he was an assistant with the Rip City Remix, the G League affiliate of the Portland Trail Blazers. San Antonio eliminated Portland in five games in the first round of the 2026 playoffs.

Before Portland, he spent the 2022-23 season as an assistant with the Windy City Bulls, Chicago's G League affiliate. He had joined the Chicago Bulls as a coaching intern for the 2018-19 season. The Bulls then hired him as their video coordinator.

His coaching career began in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Kent was an assistant with the Mad Ants of the NBA D-League from 2013 to 2015. Fort Wayne won the league title in 2014.

From there, he went to Florida State as a graduate assistant under Leonard Hamilton for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. The 2016-17 team made the NCAA Tournament. His staff biography at the University of South Florida credited him with helping develop Malik Beasley, whom the Denver Nuggets took in the first round in 2016. Kent spent 2017-18 as USF's director of player development.

Kent played two college seasons at Huntington University and two college seasons at Trine University, both in Indiana. He is a native of Angola, Indiana.

The Austin opening came when Jacob Chance left after one season. On June 29, Melbourne United of Australia's National Basketball League announced that Chance had signed a four-year deal to return as its head coach and head of basketball operations.

Austin hired Chance on Aug. 19, 2025, as the 11th head coach in franchise history. He had spent the previous two seasons as a Melbourne United assistant. Chance replaced Scott King, the 2024-25 G League Coach of the Year, who joined Spurs coach Mitch Johnson's staff in San Antonio.

Under Chance, Austin opened 9-1, the best start in franchise history, and he was named G League Coach of the Month for November. Austin finished 23-13 and took the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.

The season ended March 31 at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas, where the Rio Grande Valley Vipers won 117-106 in the conference quarterfinals. Kyle Mangas scored a career-high 45 points in the loss. Harrison Ingram had 16 points and 13 rebounds.

After the G League season, Chance spent time on the San Antonio bench during the NBA Finals, which the New York Knicks won in five games.

Two former Austin head coaches have gone on to lead NBA teams. Quin Snyder coached the franchise from 2007 to 2009, and Taylor Jenkins coached it in 2012-13.