Toronto Raptors name Darko Rajakovic as 10th head coach in franchise history

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 3:05
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 3:05
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • en (Main), selected

    Elon Musk gains access to FEMA's sensitive disaster data

    UP NEXT:

    The Raptors officially introduced their new head coach Darko Rajaković. CityNews' Sports Reporter Lindsay Dunn has more on his plans for the team and what Bobby Webster said about Fred VanVleet declining his player option.

    By Sportsnet Staff

    The Toronto Raptors have named Darko Rajakovic as the 10th head coach in the NBA team’s history.

    The 44-year-old Serb has been coaching since 1996 and was the top assistant in Memphis last season.

    The Raptors were the last NBA team to have a vacancy at head coach before hiring Rajakovic.

    “For me, culture starts with your daily commitment to yourself and your team,” said Rajakovic in a news conference outside Scotiabank Arena. “And that starts with me and starts with the players, starts with everybody in the organization.

    “That unity and that trust that we’re going to have between us, for me, is everything.”

    After Nick Nurse was fired as Toronto’s head coach on April 21, Ujiri had said the team needed to reset its culture and get back to the cohesiveness that propelled the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship.

    Rajakovic replaces Nick Nurse, who was fired on April 21. Nurse was with the organization for 10 years, including five as head coach.

    The Raptors won their only NBA championship under his watch in 2019 but were a disappointing 41-41 this season and were eliminated in the play-in tournament.

    “Honestly, appreciate this moment with the Toronto Raptors because I think we’ve changed eras a couple of times, we’ve made changes a couple of times,” said Ujiri, who noted that it was almost exactly four years ago that Toronto held its parade to celebrate the Raptors’ championship. “I’m calling on all the fans, on everybody, people in the organization, everywhere; this is a time to follow it.

    “Let’s go out and win. Let’s go out and do it again. … We’ve done it here before, and we’re going to do it again. Amen.”

    Rajakovic has impressive coaching resume that started when he was 16 

    Rajakovic is the second European to become an NBA head coach after fellow Serb Igor Kokoskov, who lasted one year with Phoenix in 2018-19.

    After more than a decade coaching in Europe and the NBA G-League, Rajakovic became an assistant to Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks in 2014.

    Following Brooks’s firing in 2015, Rajakovic stayed in Oklahoma City under Billy Donovan. The Thunder made the playoffs four times in his five seasons there, including a Western Conference final appearance in 2016 with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook headlining the roster.

    Rajakovic joined the Phoenix Suns as an assistant for the 2019-20 season and then joined the Memphis Grizzlies as an assistant for three years, including a stint as interim head coach in 2022 when Taylor Jenkins was out for health and safety protocols.

    I was in the hot seat for many, many years overseas, coaching in Serbia, coaching in Spain, coaching in G-League,” said Rajakovic. “So I’m very familiar with what it looks like to be the decision maker and to live that life day in and day out.”

    Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said that although Rajakovic was not a front-runner when Toronto began its search for a new head coach, he wowed the team’s front office during the interview process.

    “As a total package, he exceeded our expectations across the board,” said Webster after the news conference. “Whether it’s coaching, in basketball intellect or an ability to work well with others or connect with players, in all the areas that we were looking for, he was really good at.”

    Top Stories

    Top Stories

    Most Watched Today