Hoops Habit
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Does the NBA have a bias against European coaches?

By Alan Mena

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images /
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MIAMI, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 25: Tyler Johnson #16 of the Phoenix Suns talks with head coach Igor Kokoskov against the Miami Heat during the second half at American Airlines Arena on February 25, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 25: Tyler Johnson #16 of the Phoenix Suns talks with head coach Igor Kokoskov against the Miami Heat during the second half at American Airlines Arena on February 25, 2019 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Igor Kokoškov

Before Serbian coach Igor Kokoškov spent one season as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns before being fired, he was an NBA assistant coach for eighteen years.

In his short tenure with the Suns, their record was 19-63. Of course, that wasn’t entirely Kokoškov’s fault, being the coach of a poorly constructed roster that existed in an extremely challenging conference. Despite the disappointing end to his tenure with the Suns, Kokoškov’s name will be forever etched in NBA history as the first head coach born and raised outside of the United States.

Furthermore, only one season with a young and developing roster is never enough time to build a contending team.

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Thankfully, Vlade Divac, who’s also Serbian and the current vice president of basketball operations for the Sacramento Kings, hired Kokoškov as an assistant coach after his firing.

With nineteen total years of coaching in the NBA, Kokoškov has cemented his name in NBA history by becoming the first non-American NBA assistant coach (2000), winning an NBA championship (Detroit Pistons, 2004), working on an All-Star coaching staff (2006), and lastly becoming a head coach in 2018.

Throughout the course of his tenure in the NBA, Kokoškov has been on the coaching staff of several teams who have excelled in the playoffs, specifically on seven teams who reached the Conference Finals and two who have reached the NBA Finals.

In Europe, however, Kokoškov was the head coach of the Georgian national team for seven years (while still working as an assistant coach in the NBA), helping them qualify for EuroBasket three times, which has never been done in Georgia’s history.

Lastly, Kokoškov’s most impressive accomplishment in Europe was during the FIBA EuroBasket 2017, where he guided the Slovenian national team into capturing their first championship ever, finishing the competition undefeated at 9-0.