The Washington Wizards announced that Mark Simpson has been named the vice president of player performance for Monumental Basketball. Simpson spent the last three seasons as director of performance for the Los Angeles Clippers. There he oversaw the team’s player load management strategies, including the production of individualized off-season, pre-season, and in-season load-management plans that incorporated game minute management, practice and workout recommendations.
“Mark brings over 25 years of sports science experience to Monumental Basketball,” said Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard. “His vast global knowledge will be a great asset for us as we expand and strengthen our athlete care and player performance across all of our teams.”
Similar to recently hired vice president of pro personnel Johnny Rogers who also came from the Clippers, Simpson also has a past with Scott Brooks in Oklahoma City. He spent five seasons as the director of performance science with the Thunder. Prior to the NBA, Simpson worked in England where he has a master’s degree in sports science.
“We are very happy to have Mark join Monumental Basketball, as he is world class sport scientist with global and NBA experience,” said Chief of Athlete Care and Performance for Monumental Basketball Daniel Medina. “His talent, original ideas and team-oriented thinking will create positive synergy give our athletes another resource to achieve the best version of themselves.”
It appears Simpson will report directly to Medina as the Wizards continue to make an invest to the medical aspect of the game with analytics. As things currently stand, Washington still has the following individuals on their staff who will be working closely with Medina and Simpson.
- Navin Hettiarachchi – Director, Player Care & Wellness
- Jesse Phillips – Director of Player Performance & Rehabilitation
- Steve Smith Sr. – Director, Health Wellness & Performance
- Jeff Bangs – Athletic Trainer
- Blair O’Donovan – Director, Physical Preparation
The general trend of Washington adding more bodies to bolster the organization continues.
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