Grizzlies make big decision on their next head coach

The Memphis Grizzlies have decided keep the jig going.

Memphis announced on Friday that they have named Tuomas Iisalo as their full-time head coach. Iisalo had already closed out the season as the team’s interim head coach, and now he is officially getting to shed the “interim” label.

The 42-year-old Iisalo took over for the Grizzlies at the end of March after they made the shocking decision to fire head coach Taylor Jenkins so late in the year. Iisalo went just 4-5 as Grizzlies head coach to close out the season but did lead the team to a victory during the play-in tournament to secure the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.

That said, Memphis went on to get swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in a very embarrassing first-round showing. Included in that was one of the most brutal single-game playoff collapses ever.

Still, Iisalo, who joined the Grizzlies in 2024 and was tasked with overseeing their offense, is a very respected basketball figure. The Finnish-born coach comes with over a decade of experience coaching overseas, including as the head coach of German team Telekom Baskets Bonn (whom he won two Bundesliga Coach of the Year Awards and a Champions League title with) and French team Paris Basketball (with whom he won LNB Pro A Coach of the Year as well as EuroCup and French League Cup titles).

Memphis has a lot to figure out this offseason. Star player Ja Morant is the subject of trade and unhappiness rumors, and the Grizzlies do not even own their first-round pick this year (which belongs to the Washington Wizards as part of the Marcus Smart trade). But Memphis has at least checked one item off the agenda in quickly moving to hire Iisalo as their full-time head coach.