Ivan Kokoskov becomes Suns' new head coach
The Phoenix Suns hired Utah Jazz assistant Igor Kokoskov on Wednesday as their new head coach, and have made NBA history by doing so.
The Serbian will become the league’s first-ever head coach to be born and raised outside the U.S. or Canada. Kokoskov, 46, will officially take over the Suns after the Jazz’s playoff run ends. Utah is currently trailing the Houston Rockets 1-0 in the second-round series. Kokoskov replaces Jay Triano, who became Phoenix’s interim head coach after Earl Watson was fired. Watson was the Suns’ coach for only the first three games of last season.
Kokoskov worked as a Suns assistant from 2008 to 2013, and helped lead the team to the Western Conference Finals in 2010.
The Suns finished with the worst record in the NBA (21-61) this year.
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Kokoskov also coached the Slovenian national team in the summer of 2017. He helpd lead the squad to a EuroBasket tournament title, with NBA stars like Goran Dragic and Luka Doncic of the Miami Heat putting on impressive performances in the tournament.
Dragic and Doncic both congratulated Kokoskov for his new position on Twitter:
When Kokoskov first entered the NBA in 2000 as a coaching staff member for the Los Angeles Clippers, he became the first European-born assistant in the league.
The Serb also worked as an assistant for the Detroit Pistons, who won an NBA championship in 2004. Kokoskov — who was also the head coach of Georgia’s national team from 2008 to 2015 — has been a U.S. citizen since 2010.
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