Sacramento Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez replaces Nick Nurse as coach for Team Canada
Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez was nearly hired to replace Nick Nurse as head coach of the Toronto Raptors.
Instead, Fernandez will take Nurse’s place as head coach of the Canadian national team.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday that Fernandez has been chosen to lead Team Canada as it prepares for the 2023 FIBA World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fernandez will lead a team that could feature several NBA players, including All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks, Lu Dort, Dwight Powell and Kelly Olynyk.
Fernandez, 40, is considered one of the top up and coming young coaches in the NBA. He was a finalist for head coaching jobs in Toronto and Phoenix this summer before the Raptors hired Darko Rajakovic and the Suns hired Frank Vogel. Fernandez also interviewed with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Fernandez, a native of Barcelona, Spain, has previous international coaching experience with Spain and Nigeria.
Fernandez spent six seasons on Michael Malone’s staff with the Denver Nuggets before coming to Sacramento to join Mike Brown’s staff last summer. One of Brown’s first moves was to hire Fernandez as his associate head coach.
Fernandez has been credited with helping Brown, the NBA Coach of the Year, change the culture in Sacramento after 16 consecutive losing seasons. The Kings finished third in the Western Conference to secure their first playoff berth since 2006.
