PORTLAND, Ore. (Aug. 22, 2017) – The Portland Trail Blazers have named Jesse Elis as their Director of Player Health and Performance, it was announced today by President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey.
Elis will lead all facets of the Trail Blazers medical staff to collaboratively provide preventative maintenance and rehabilitative health care to Trail Blazers players. He will work closely with the team’s athletic trainers, physicians, strength and conditioning specialists, nutritionists, psychologists and therapeutic specialists to integrate rehabilitative concepts into performance training.
“The addition of Jesse is another step toward developing the finest health and performance staff in the NBA,” said Olshey.
A native of Dickinson, N.D., Elis joins the Trail Blazers from EXOS in Phoenix, Ariz., where he served as the Director of Physical Therapy for the past two years. Prior to joining EXOS, Elis had extensive experience working with athletes as a concierge physical therapist for professional tennis players and working in China with both National and Olympic-based teams.
Elis received his bachelor’s and doctorate degrees at the University of North Dakota, and completed a three-year post doctorate fellowship in the area of orthopedic manual therapy through the Evidence in Motion program. He also is board certified through the American Physical Therapy Association in both Orthopedics and Sports while also carrying the designation as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Maintaining his involvement in continuing education programs, Elis teaches on multiple levels of both lecture and clinically-based courses.