Now two weeks after the dismissal of Scott Brooks as Wizards head coach, more names of those drawing interest and participating in interviews to become his replacement are coming out. Bulls assistant coach Chris Fleming is among those who have interviewed for the vacancy, NBC Sports Washington has learned.
Fleming, 51, is a longtime assistant who does not have NBA head coaching experience, which has been a common thread among the candidates mentioned publicly. He was, however, head coach of the German national team.
As NBC Sports Washington reported at the onset of the search, the Wizards are valuing international experience as they appear likely to hire someone who has not previously been an NBA head coach. The Wizards had more international players than any other NBA team at the beginning of the 2020-21 regular season and general manager Tommy Sheppard has long been entrenched in the global game.
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Fleming has also been an assistant coach for the Nets and Nuggets. With the Bulls, he served as the lead assistant under Jim Boylen before being retained by Billy Donovan. In Brooklyn he coached with Kenny Atkinson and in Denver he was on Michael Malone's staff.
Fleming played college basketball at the University of Connecticut and the University of Richmond. He is originally from New Jersey.
Prior to his coaching career, Fleming played professionally in Germany. With the German national team, Fleming coached NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki.
Fleming has interviewed for the Knicks and Bulls head coach vacancies in previous years.