Alabama men’s basketball has hired Chris Fleming as its third assistant coach, UA’s NIL collective announced Wednesday.

Fleming has spent the past decade as an NBA assistant, most recently with the Portland Trailblazers. He joins Preston Murphy and Brian Adams as assistants to Nate Oats.

Fleming will replace Ryan Pannone on the staff after Pannone left this offseason to become the head coach of Arkansas State.

The hire of Fleming marks the third straight assistant Oats has hired from the NBA. Pannone had most recently been with the New Orleans Pelicans and Brian Adams

Fleming became a free agent this offseason after his contract was not renewed with the Trailblazers.

Prior to joining the Trailblazers in 2024, Fleming served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls starting in 2019. He first worked under Jim Boylen in Chicago before he was retained by Billy Donovan in 2020.

Before Fleming arrived in Chicago, he spent three seasons as an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets. That followed his start in the NBA when he was hired as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for Follow him on X and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.