The Memphis Grizzlies liked what they saw from Tuomas Iisalo in a limited sample last season. The team will reportedly make Iisalo its next head coach after he served in the role on an interim basis after Taylor Jenkins was fired, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The move makes Iisalo the first Finnish-born head coach in NBA history.
While Iisalo has a history of success as a coach, most of that experience came overseas. After playing professionally in Finland, Iisalo got into coaching. He coached teams in Finland, Germany and France. While coaching in Germany, Iisalo won the Bundesliga coach of the year award in two straight seasons and was named the Champions League coach of the year in 2023. Iisalo also won the EuroCup coach of the year award in 2024 after winning the 2023–24 EuroCup title with Paris Basketball.
The move comes less than a week after the Grizzlies were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
This story will be updated.
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