The Atlanta Hawks have hired former Phoenix Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov as Quin Snyder's top assistant coach, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
“Igor Kokoskov has signed a deal to become Quin Snyder’s top assistant with the Atlanta Hawks, sources tell ESPN. Kokoskov, who spent a year as the Suns’ head coach, previously worked for Snyder on his Utah Jazz and Missouri staffs.”
Kokoskov spent 2022-23 as an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets under the departed Steve Nash and Jacque Vaughn. The Serbian coach was an assistant with Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks the previous season, marking his return to the NBA after serving as head coach of the Turkish Basketball League's Fenerbahce in 2020-21.
Kokoskov was hired as the Suns' head coach on May 2nd, 2018, mere months after leading a young Luka Doncic and the Slovenian national team to gold at Eurobasket. Phoenix, largely under the direction of disgraced former owner Robert Sarver, selected Deandre Ayton with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft less than two months after naming Kokoskov head coach despite his strong existing relationship with Doncic.
The Suns went 19-63 during Kokoskov's debut season, tying for the second-worst record in the league. He was fired on April 22nd, 2019, less than two weeks after conclusion of the regular season.
Snyder took the reins in Atlanta in late February following the firing of Nate McMillan. The Hawks finish 10-11 with Snyder on the sidelines, emerging from the play-in tournament to take the Boston Celtics to a surprisingly hard-fought six games in the first round of the playoffs.
Kokoskov's first American coaching job came at the University of Missouri in 1999, when Snyder was the Tigers' head coach.
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