European NBA assistant coaches: two former players and dominant Serbs / News - Basketnews.com

There are 7 European assistant coaches in the NBA: Jordi Fernandez, Darius Songaila, Igor Kokoskov, Dejan Milojevic, Darko Rajakovic, Ognjen Stojakovic, and Vitaly Potapenko.

Credit: USA Today Sports, AP-Scanpix, LKF Credit USA Today Sports, AP-Scanpix, LKF

In recent years, international players have become the dominant force in the NBA. For four years in a row, an international player won the NBA MVP, and in all of those cases, there were plenty of European ties.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, Domantas Sabonis, and others greatly impact their teams. So, how about the coaches?

With Jordi Fernandez and Darko Rajakovic being finalists for the Toronto Raptors head coach job, check out every present European coach assistant in the NBA. At the moment, there are 7 European assistant coaches in the NBA, with four of them from Serbia.

Jordi Fernandez | Sacramento Kings

The 40-year-old Fernandez began his coaching career back in 2006 when he became responsible for player development at Impact Basketball Academy.

Three years later, the Spanish coach got his first gig in the NBA, as he was invited to the Cleveland Cavaliers to work as a players' development coach.

He worked with players like Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Matthew Dellavedova, and others and was on the bench during the Cavaliers' title run in 2016.

From 2014 to 2016, he also was a head coach of Canton Charge, the affiliate Cavaliers team in the G League.

Credit AP-Scanpix

After that, Fernandez moved to Denver, where he worked from 2016 to 2022 before joining forces with Mike Brown again, this time in Sacramento Kings.

"I think one day Jordi will be a head coach in this league," Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said. "He's been a head coach in the G League. He's got great international experience."

Fernandez made his debut as the NBA head coach in December when he had to take over Brown, who entered health and safety protocols. The Kings took one win in back-to-back games against the Nuggets with Fernandez in charge.

Now, Fernandez is mentioned among the front runners for the Raptors' head coaching job.

Darius Songaila | San Antonio Spurs

After a glorious playing career, the 45-year-old Lithuanian takes big steps in the coaching field.

Songaila made his first steps as a coach in his native Lithuania, where he was an assistant coach for Zalgiris Kaunas with Sarunas Jasikevicius in charge.

Three years later, he moved to San Antonio. After becoming an assistant in the video department, Songaila was promoted to player development assistant in 2019.

In 2020, Songaila took another step. He became 4th assistant coach for Gregg Popovich. And this summer, he will guide Lithuania's reserve team before the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Darius Songaila in the midde at the topCredit AFP - Scanpix

"I'm really fortunate," Songaila said in May. "I worked with Jasikevicius for three years, then I went to San Antonio to work with the best coach of all time in Gregg Popovich. Those years in both organizations helped me to improve and see all stages, starting from video and scouting and reaching assistant coach duties."

Songaila also confirmed he received support from Popovich regarding his duties with the Lithuania national team.

"The Spurs would definitely let me go to the World Cup," Songaila confirmed. "I spoke with Popovich, and the whole organization knows about it, including the owners and GM. They encouraged me, and they are happy for me and this opportunity."

After the summer, Songaila will receive another incredible opportunity – working with the French mega talent Victor Wembanyama.

Igor Kokoskov | Atlanta Hawks

Probably the best-known European coach and a pioneer for foreign coaches in the NBA.

Kokoskov remains the only foreign coach that held a head coach position. However, it's worth adding that Kokoskov received U.S. citizenship in 2010.

Nevertheless, the Serbian/American coach began his journey in the NBA in 2000 after becoming an assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers. Kokoskov became the first non-American to be hired as a full-time assistant coach in the NBA.

Later on, he worked as an assistant for the Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, and Utah Jazz.

After 5 years, he returned to Phoenix, but this time as a head coach. Unfortunately for Kokoskov, his stint with the Suns lasted only one season.

The Suns finished the 2018-19 season with a 19-63 record, the worst in an entire club's history. Even though the Suns had the No. 1 pick and selected Deandre Ayton, it didn't help to achieve solid results.

Credit AP-Scanpix

After an unsuccessful year with the Suns, Kokoskov returned to an assistant role with the Sacramento Kings.

Kokoskov debuted in the EuroLeague the following year, becoming Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul's head coach. The 51-year-old guided Fenerbahce to the EuroLeague playoffs but lost the playoffs series against CSKA Moscow 0-3.

After the season, he was dismissed and returned to the NBA by joining the Dallas Mavericks coaching staff. After spending one season in Dallas, he joined the Brooklyn Nets for the 2022-23 campaign and will assist Quin Snyder in the Atlanta Hawks in the 2023-24 season.

Kokoskov could be easily regarded as the most experienced European coach in the NBA.

Dejan Milojevic | Golden State Warriors

The 46-year-old Milojevic finished his only second season in the NBA, but he set some solid ground in his native Serbia before the move to the Golden State Warriors.

After his playing days in Europe, Milojevic began his coaching career with Mega Basket, where he worked with such players like Nikola Jokic, Vasilije Micic, Ivica Zubac, Vlatko Cancar, Goga Bitadze, and others.

Even though Mega was his first experience as a coach, Milojevic spent 8 years there, guiding the team to a 173-172 record and the Serbian Cup title in 2016. During his time, 11 Mega players received the NBA Draft selection.

In 2021, Milojevic moved to Buducnost Podgorica, winning Montenegrin League and Montenegrin Cup. Next summer, he moved to the NBA, signing a multi-year deal with the Warriors.

Milojevic was tasked with working withthe Warriors bigs, including recently-drafted James Wisemanas well as established playersDraymond GreenandKevon Looney.

Due to Wiseman's multiple injuries, Milojevic ended up spending more time working with Looney and was credited for helping the seventh-year player improve his rebounding in the regular season and 2022 playoffs.

Milojevic also became the second Serbian assistant coach (after Igor Kokoškov) to win an NBA ring after the Warriors' championship run in 2022.

Darko Rajakovic | Memphis Grizzlies

Another Serbian on the European NBA coaches list. 44-year-old Rajakovic began his coaching career at 16 years old, working with the Borac Cacak youth team.

After 3 years with Cacak, he moved to Crvena Zvezda, where he was named a youth team head coach and worked there for 8 years. Throughout the time, he spent time with the legendary Mike Krzyzewski, attending Duke practices and team meetings.

His journey in the United States began in 2012 when Rajakovic became the first G League coach to be born outside of North America. Rajakovic coached the Tulsa 66ers for two seasons before joining the Oklahoma City Thunder as an assistant coach.

During his 5-year stint with the Thunder, Rajakovic helped develop many players, including Victor Oladipo, Dennis Schroder, Andre Roberson, Steven Adams, and others. He also served as Thunder's head coach in the NBA Summer League in 2014 and 2015.

Rajakovic joined the Phoenix Suns for the 2019-20 season, but straight after that, he moved to the Grizzlies, where he works up until now.

In Memphis, Rajakovic also had an opportunity to make his debut as a head coach. In January 2022, Rajakovic as the interim head coach, led the Grizzlies to a 116-108 win against the Warriors, becoming the second European after Kokoskov to lead the NBA team in the regular season. Rajakovic finished his stint as the interim head coach with a 4–1 record.

Recently, Marc Stein reported that Rajakovic remains in the running for the Toronto Raptors head coaching position.

Ognjen Stojakovic | Denver Nuggets

Similarly to Songaila, Stojakovic climbed through the ranks to become what he is now.

After spending 7 years with FMP Belgrade as a youth team coach, the 41-year-old moved to the NBA after being hired by the Nuggets in 2013 as a video coordinator.

He spent three years in this position before being promoted to assistant coach for player development in 2016. In 2018, Stojakovic received another promotion by becoming the director of player development.

He worked in this position for four years before being promoted to assistant coach before the 2022-23 season. It allowed Stojakovic to be an assistant coach during the 2023 NBA All-Star Game as the Nuggets' head coach Michael Malone was a coach for Team LeBron.

Vitaly Potapenko | Memphis Grizzlies

We approach the last European coach in the NBA. The former Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Seattle SuperSonics, and Sacramento Kings center didn't leave the United States for long as he established himself as an assistant coach in the NBA.

One year after his retirement in 2008, Potapenko joined the Indiana Pacers affiliate team Fort Wayne Mad Ants as an assistant.

After one year in G League, Potapenko was invited to join the Pacers coaching staff. However, this partnership lasted for only one season, and the 48-year-old Potapenko returned to G League.

Potapenko waited for his next NBA opportunity until 2013 when he joined the Cavaliers. After spending four years in Cleveland, the Ukrainian coach moved to Memphis, where he works until this day as an assistant coach.

In this list, we didn't include:

Nate Reinking (born in the US, has British-American citizenship) Jay Larranaga and Jim Moran (both born in the US to Irish parents and have dual U.S. and Irish citizenship) Josh Oppenheimer (born in the US, has dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship) Anthony Dobbins (born in the US, became a naturalized Italian citizen) Kristi Toliver (born in the US, became a naturalized Slovak citizen) Like what we are doing? You can express your gratitude here.