The Toronto Raptors have named 44 year old Darko Rajakovic as the 10th head coach in the NBA team’s history.
Raptors vice-chairman and president Masai Ujiri said “We’re entering a new era — one where we are embracing new ideas, a new attitude, and now a new head coach — but our goals remain the same. A championship. Winning, Darko shares those goals, and our belief in culture, professionalism, and hard work. His commitment to both learning and teaching our game is elite, and we are all very excited to welcome him to the Raptors family.
The 44-year-old Serbian has been coaching since 1996 and was the top assistant in Memphis last season and previously with Phoenix Suns and OKC Thunder.
Rajakovic brings 27 years of coaching experience to Toronto.
1996-99: Borac Cacak (Serbia) youth head coach
1999-2007: Cervena zvezda (Serbia) youth head coach
2004-11: San Antonio Spurs scouting consultant/Summer League assistant
2012-14: Tulsa 66ers head coach
2014-19: Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach
2019-Present: Serbian National Team assistant coach
2019-20: Phoenix Suns assistant coach
2020-23: Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach
2023-present: Toronto Raptors head coach
The Raptors were the last NBA team to have a vacancy at head coach before hiring Rajakovic.
Darko Rajakovic takes over from Nick Nurse who was head coach from 2018 to 2023 before being fired after the Raptors failed to qualify for the post season. Nurse led the Raptors to the NBA Championship on this day 4 years ago on June 13, 2019.
Welcome To The North Darko!
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