Scott Brooks Hanging With Home State Fans (Video)

Oklahoma City Thunder Head Coach Scott Brooks has more than paid his dues, amid his climb to leading one of the most prolific franchises in the NBA. After playing a little more than one season in the now defunct Continental Basketball Association, the French Camp, California native took the court with six teams (76ers, T-Wolves, Rockets, Mavericks, Knicks, Cavaliers), from 1988-1998. Without question, the apex of the point guard's career took place in 1994, when he won an NBA title, as a member of the Houston Rockets. Brooks ended the running phase of his career, by lacing it up for one final season with the Los Angeles Stars of the minor league American Basketball Association.

Remarkably, Brooks' coaching career has not been dissimilar to that of his nomadic tenure as a ballplayer. The UC Irvine alum served as an assistant for those LA Stars, head coach for the ABA's Southern California Surf, followed by more assisting gigs with the Nuggets, Kings and Supersonics/Thunder. Finally, the former undersized ball handler was chosen to lead OKC, early in the 2008-2009 season.

Since taking the reins in Oklahoma's largest city, Brooks has led his young and talented squad to both a Western Conference and an NBA Finals appearance. The 2010 NBA Coach of the Year's efforts were rewarded with a four-year/$18 million contract extension last summer. Not bad for a guy who never earned more than $750,000, during any of his seasons as a player.

Friday, per the above iFolloSports.com original video, the highly successful and very well compensated coach stopped to sign autographs outside the Casa del Mar hotel in Santa Monica, California. This situation took place a few hours before the Thunder's Friday night game with the Los Angeles Lakers. Brooks, who had just returned from a jog along the adjacent Pacific Ocean, was very amenable to this group of LA NBA fans, as he prepared for the evening's nationally televised ESPN broadcast.    

Something tells us that the sight of Scott Brooks, working the sidelines of an ESPN, TNT or ABC telecast, will be a very common occurrence, for many years to come.