Former Utah Jazz Athletic Trainer Gary Briggs Passes Away
Jan 23, 2026, 7:35 PM
Longtime Jazz trainer Gary Briggs, who is retiring after the game, gets five from player Joe Ingles Monday, April 13, 2015, at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. (Photo courtesy of Tom Smart, Deseret News)
(Photo courtesy of Tom Smart, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz announced on Friday that former Athletic Trainer Gary Briggs has passed away at the age of 76.
Briggs spent 15 years with the organization and 33 years total in the NBA before retiring at the conclusion of the 2014-2015 season.
The @utahjazz announced that longtime trainer Gary Briggs passed away.
Briggs spent 33 years in the NBA, including 18 with the Cleveland Cavaliers and 15 with the Jazz.
He was named the NBA’s Athletic Trainer of the Year in 1999.
(Photo: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News) pic.twitter.com/TdERWHRUY6
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 24, 2026
Briggs was born in California, and was certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association at the age of 29.
He covered many sports on different levels early in his career. He worked at multiple colleges as a student assistant, helped in the Philadelphia Eagles’ training camp in 1973, and eventually became the head athletic trainer at both GlenOak High School in Canton, Ohio, and Troy State University in Alabama.
In 1982, he joined the Cleveland Cavaliers’ staff, and stayed in the association for the next 33 years. In 2000, he and his family packed their bags to move to Salt Lake City.
Just before that, he was named the NBA’s Athletic Trainer of the Year.
If you grew up an NBA fan, you got used to seeing Gary Briggs gluing the Utah Jazz back together.
Condolences to his family. https://t.co/Xam3eiYLhz
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 24, 2026
Briggs also served as Chairman of the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association during the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons, and was inducted into the Ohio Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2001.
Maybe most impressive was his reliability, serving in 3,013 of a possible 3,014 preseason, regular season, and postseason games over the course of his career.
“Gary Briggs was the definition of a first-class professional and an even better human being,” Utah Jazz President Jim Olson said. “For decades, he set the standard for athletic training in the NBA, earning the trust of players, coaches, and colleagues through his knowledge, integrity, and genuine care for others. Gary’s impact on this organization and on the league will be felt for generations, and our hearts are with Sue, Ashley, Courtney, and the entire Briggs family during this difficult time.”
