The Sacramento Kings are hiring former Phoenix Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov as an assistant, according to ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Sacramento Kings are hiring former Suns coach Igor Kokoskov as an assistant coach, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 13, 2019
Kokoskov joins the Kings coaching staff which currently includes Elston Turner, Bob Thornton, Bryan Gates, Duane Ticknor, Jason March, and Dan Hartfield. He should help head coach Luke Walton turn things around in the 2019-20 NBA season.
The Kings finished with a 39-43 win-loss record and missed the playoffs for the 13th consecutive year.
The Suns agreed to terms with Kokoskov to become their head coach on May 2, 2018. He “became the first head coach born and raised outside North America in NBA history,” per the Suns' official website. The 47-year-old Kokoskov was born in Serbia.
The Suns won just 19 games in the 2018-19 NBA season. They also missed the playoffs for the ninth straight year. The Suns fired Kokoskov after just one season on April 23. The Memphis Grizzlies reportedly interviewed Kokoskov for their head coaching position less than a month later.
Former Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov will join Luke Walton’s staff on the Kings, per @wojespn pic.twitter.com/Jjj2WCm2kM
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) June 13, 2019
Kokoskov began his coaching career in Belgrade in 1992. He coached different youth teams, including the then-Yugoslav men's and junior national teams. At 24, he became the youngest coach in his country's basketball history.
Kokoskov made history again when the Missouri Tigers hired him as an assistant coach in the 1999 NCAA season. He became the first full-time European assistant coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball history in the process.
Kokoskov went on to become an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, and Utah Jazz.
Welcome to the Sacramento Kings, Igor Kokoskov.
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