In the National Basketball Association (NBA), foreign coaches—also known as international coaches—are those who were born outside the United States.
This list includes all international coaches who have been assistant and/or head coach in the NBA and also includes all coaches who were born in the United States but have represented other countries in international basketball competition.
In 2000, Igor Kokoškov from Serbia became the first non-American to hold a full-time assistant coach position in the NBA.[1] In 2004, he became the first non-American assistant coach to win an NBA championship, and the first to serve on an NBA All-Star Game coaching staff.[2] In 2018, he became the first fully European head coach in the NBA.[3]
List
[edit]Note: These lists are correct through the start of the 2023–24 season.
Yrs | Number of seasons coached in the NBA | |||||
* | Denotes head or assistant coach who is still active in the NBA |
List of head coaches
[edit]Nationality[A] | Birthplace[B] | Head coach | Career[C] | Yrs | Notes | Ref. |
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Steve Nash | 2020–2022 | 3 | — | [4] |
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— | Jay Triano | 2008–2011; 2017–2018 | 4 | — | [5] |
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David Blatt | 2014–2016 | 2 | Born in the United States to Jewish parents, has dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship. | [6] |
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Mike D'Antoni | 1998–1999; 2003–2014; 2016–2020 | 16 | Born in the United States to Italian parents, has dual U.S. and Italian citizenship. | [7] |
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Ime Udoka* | 2021–present | 1 | Born in the United States to Nigerian parents, has dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship. Suspended for the 2022–23 season. | |
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Igor Kokoškov | 2018–2019 | 1 | Also holds U.S. citizenship as of 2010. | [8] |
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Darko Rajaković* | 2023–present | 0 | — | [9] |
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Steve Kerr* | 2014–present | 9 | Born in Lebanon to Malcolm H. Kerr, a Lebanese-born American citizen.[10] | [11] |
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Eddie Gottlieb | 1946–1955 | 9 | Born in the Russian Empire, moved to the United States as a child, became a naturalized U.S. citizen. | |
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Kiki VanDeWeghe | 2009–2010 | 1 | Born in West Germany[F] to a Canadian father and an American mother. Holds both American and Canadian passports. | [12] |
List of assistant coaches
[edit]Nationality[A] | Birthplace[B] | Assistant coach | Career[C] | Yrs | Notes | Ref. |
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— | Pablo Prigioni* | 2018–present | 5 | Also holds Italian citizenship. | [13] |
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— | Adam Caporn* | 2022–present | 1 | — | |
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— | Damian Cotter* | 2020–present | 3 | — | |
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— | Trevor Gleeson* | 2021–present | 2 | — | |
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— | Matthew Nielsen* | 2021–present | 2 | — | |
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Marlon Garnett* | 2015–present | 8 | Born in the United States to Belizean parents, has dual U.S. and Belize citizenship. | |
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— | Leandro Barbosa* | 2022–present | 1 | — | |
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— | Tiago Splitter | 2019–2023 | 4 | — | |
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— | Gordon Herbert | 2008–2009 | 1 | Also holds Finnish citizenship. | |
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— | Jamaal Magloire | 2013–2016 | 3 | — | |
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— | Scott Morrison* | 2017–2021 2023–present |
4 | — | |
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Roy Rana | 2019–2022 | 3 | — | |
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— | Jay Triano* | 2002–2008; 2012–2017; 2018–present | 16 | — | [5] |
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Patrick Mutombo | 2012–2015; 2016–2020 | 9 | Also holds Belgian citizenship. | |
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Neven Spahija | 2014–2017; 2019–2020 | 4 | — | |
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— | Jama Mahlalela* | 2012–2018; 2020–present | 9 | Also holds Canadian citizenship. | |
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James Wade* | 2023–present | 0 | Born in the United States, became a naturalized French citizen. | |
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Detlef Schrempf | 2005–2007 | 2 | — | |
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Tyrone Ellis | 2017–2018 | 1 | Born in the United States, became a naturalized Georgian citizen. | |
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— | Alex McKechnie | 2013–2020 | 7 | — | |
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Nate Reinking* | 2021–present | 1 | — | |
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— | Fotios Katsikaris | 2018–2019 | 1 | — | < |
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Jay Larrañaga* | 2012–present | 11 | Born in the United States to Irish parents, has dual U.S. and Irish citizenship. | |
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Jim Moran | 2015–2023 | 8 | Born in the United States to Irish parents, has dual U.S. and Irish citizenship. | |
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Josh Oppenheimer* | 2013–2017; 2020–present | 8 | Born in the United States, has dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship. | |
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Mike D'Antoni | 1997–1998; 2000–2001; 2002–2003; 2015–2016; 2020–2021 | 5 | Born in the United States to Italian parents, has dual U.S. and Italian citizenship. | [7] |
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Anthony Dobbins* | 2018–present | 5 | Born in the United States, became a naturalized Italian citizen. | |
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— | Riccardo Fois | 2019–2021 | 2 | — | |
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— | Ettore Messina | 2014–2019 | 5 | — | |
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— | Sergio Scariolo | 2018–2021 | 3 | — | |
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Maz Trakh | 2010–2014; 2016–2019 | 7 | Born in the United States, has dual U.S. and Jordanian citizenship. | |
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Darius Songaila* | 2019–present | 4 | — | |
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Ekpe Udoh* | 2023–present | 0 | Born in the United States to Nigerian parents, has dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship. | |
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Ime Udoka | 2012–2021 | 9 | Born in the United States to Nigerian parents, has dual U.S. and Nigerian citizenship. | |
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Shayne Whittington* | 2023–present | 0 | Born in the United States, became a naturalized Macedonian citizen. | |
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— | Mahmoud Abdelfattah | 2022–2023 | 1 | Also holds U.S. citizenship. | |
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Chip Engelland* | 1999–2000; 2003–present | 21 | Born in the United States, became a naturalized Filipino citizen. | |
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— | Marcin Gortat* | 2022–present | 1 | — | |
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Becky Hammon | 2014–2022 | 8 | Born in the United States, became a naturalized Russian citizen. | |
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— | DeSagana Diop | 2016–2022 | 6 | — | |
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Aleksandar Džikić | 2005–2007 | 2 | — | |
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Igor Kokoškov* | 2000–2018; 2019–2020; 2021–present | 21 | Also holds U.S. citizenship as of 2010. | [14] |
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Dejan Milojević | 2021–2024 | 3 | Died during the 2023–24 season. | |
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Darko Rajaković | 2014–2023 | 9 | — | [9] |
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Ivo Simović* | 2023–present | 0 | — | |
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Ognjen Stojaković* | 2016–present | 7 | — | [15] |
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Nenad Trajković | 2010–2011 | 1 | — | |
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Kristi Toliver* | 2018–present | 5 | Born in the United States, became a naturalized Slovak citizen. | |
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Marko Milič* | 2022–present | 1 | — | |
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— | Jordi Fernández* | 2016–present | 7 | — | [16] |
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— | Sergi Oliva | 2020–2022 | 2 | — | [17] |
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— | Erdem Can | 2021–2022 | 1 | — | |
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— | Mehmet Okur | 2016–2017 | 1 | — | |
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Vitaly Potapenko* | 2010–2011; 2013–2017; 2018–present |
10 | — | |
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Octavio De La Grana* | 2010–2012 2016–present |
9 | Born in Cuba, moved to the United States at the age of 6, became a naturalized U.S. citizen. | |
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Patrick Ewing | 2002–2017 | 15 | Born in Jamaica, moved to the United States at the age of 11, became a naturalized U.S. citizen. | |
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Ernie Grunfeld | 1989–1991 | 2 | Born in Romania, moved to the United States at the age of 8, became a naturalized U.S. citizen. | [18] |
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Tim Duncan | 2019–2020 | 1 | — | |
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David Vanterpool | 2012–2022 | 10 | Born on the United States mainland, represented U.S. Virgin Islands internationally.[19] |
See also
[edit]- List of Serbian NBA coaches
- List of foreign NBA players
- Race and ethnicity in the NBA
- List of current NBA head coaches
- List of NBA head coaches with 400 games coached
Notes
[edit]- A Nationality indicates a coach's representative nationality.
- B Birthplace indicates a coach's country of birth. A blank column indicates that the coach's birth country is the same to his nationality.
- C Career in the NBA
- D SFR Yugoslavia dissolved in 1992 into five independent countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. FR Yugoslavia was renamed into Serbia and Montenegro in February 2003 and dissolved in June 2006 into two independent countries, Montenegro and Serbia.
- E The Russian Empire was overthrown during the Russian Revolution in 1917; the resulting areas would eventually lead to being involved with 22 different modern-day countries.
- F Germany was previously divided into two independent countries, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and German Democratic Republic (East Germany), from 1949 to 1990.
- G The Soviet Union dissolved in December 1991 into 15 independent countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
References
[edit]- ^ Magic Name Igor Kokoskov Assistant Coach
- ^ "Jazz Announce Basketball Staff Additions". NBA.com. July 1, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- ^ "Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ "Nets Fire Coach Steve Nash". New York Times. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
- ^ a b "Jay Triano Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ "David Blatt Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ a b "Mike D'Antoni Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ "Igor Kokoškov Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ^ a b "Darko Rajaković Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ Silver, Michael (April 7, 1997). "Straight Shooter". Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
- ^ "Steve Kerr Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ "Kiki Vandeweghe Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ "Pablo Prigioni And Tiago Splitter Added To Brooklyn Nets Staff". NBA.com. April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ "Igor Kokoškov Statistics". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ "Meet the 2016-17 Nuggets Coaches". nba.com/nuggets. NBA. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
- ^ "Denver Nuggets add Jordi Fernandez to coaching staff". denverstiffs.com. NBA. July 4, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
- ^ "Jazz add Sergi Oliva to coaching staff". nba.com. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "David Vanterpool Profile". PBC CSKA Moscow. Retrieved October 3, 2010.