The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the youngest franchises in the NBA.
Considering they were added to the league before the 1995-96 season, the Memphis Grizzlies have completed 30 seasons in the NBA.
During that time, the Grizzlies have advanced to the postseason 14 times, but never got past the Western Conference Finals.
Many expected Taylor Jenkins to end that drought, but he failed to elevate the team to that level in six seasons. The task has now been handed to Tuomas Iisalo, who is the current head coach of the franchise.
Despite the Grizzlies having a 44-29 record during the 2024-25 season under coach Jenkins, the Grizzlies’ top brass decided to fire him in the middle of the campaign.
As a result, Iisalo took over the head coaching duties from Jenkins. Under Iisalo, the Grizzlies struggled as they went 4-5 in nine games.
Speaking of Iisalo, he doesn’t have much NBA coaching experience, as before being named the Grizzlies’ head coach, he was an assistant coach of the team.
The 2024-25 season was also Iisalo’s first year as an assistant coach in the league. Keeping that in mind, it may seem surprising that the Grizzlies hired him as their next head coach.
While it’s true that Iisalo lacks time in the NBA, the Finnish coach has a wealth of coaching experience in Europe.
Iisalo began his coaching journey in Finland, but soon moved to Germany. That’s where he showed signs of brilliance with Crailsheim.
Following a five-year stint with the team, he joined Telekom Baskets Bonn. During his tenure with them, Iisalo won two German League Coach of the Year awards.
Prior to joining the Grizzlies’ coaching staff, Iisalo transitioned into the EuroCup and won the league’s Coach of the Year award.
All things considered, the Grizzlies may have struck gold by naming Iisalo as the team’s head coach as the franchise will hope for a decent season under his leadership.
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