Chris Jent is now a two-time NBA champion.
The former Ohio State player and assistant coach, who is now the associate head coach of the New York Knicks, won his second NBA championship on Saturday as the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, clinching their first NBA championship in 53 years.
That’s NBA Champion Chris Jent!
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) June 14, 2026
Congratulations to Buckeye alum Chris Jent on becoming an NBA Champion #GoBucks | #DevelopedHere pic.twitter.com/OgPLjPIGba
Jent previously won an NBA championship as a player for the Houston Rockets in 1994.
Jent helped lead the Knicks to this year’s championship in his first year as their associate head coach, working alongside first-year head coach Mike Brown. The Knicks went 53-29 in the regular season, earning the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, before storming through the playoffs, including a 13-game win streak that included sweeps of the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers before their 4-1 series win over Victor Wembanayama and the Spurs.
Jent played for Ohio State from 1988-92. He helped lead the Buckeyes to back-to-back Big Ten championships in his junior and senior seasons, averaging 12.6 points and 5.3 rebounds as a senior in 1991-92, when the Buckeyes made the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
After a decade-long professional career, Jent returned to Ohio State in 2005 as a student assistant while completing his degree in communications. Jent rejoined Thad Matta’s staff as a full-time assistant coach from 2011-13 and again for the 2016-17 season.
Since then, Jent has been an NBA assistant coach, joining the Knicks last offseason after stints with the Charlotte Hornets (2024-25), Los Angeles Lakers (2022-24) and Atlanta Hawks (2017-22). Jent was also previously an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings (2013-14), Cleveland Cavaliers (2006-11), Orlando Magic (2004-05) and Philadelphia 76ers (2003-04), and was the head coach of the NBA G League’s Bakersfield Jam for the 2015-16 season.
