Tuomas Iisalo will continue his head coaching duties with the Memphis Grizzlies next season after the franchise dropped the interim tag on Friday.
Iisalo took over the position on March 28 after Memphis fired coach Taylor Jenkins in a shocking move with nine games left in the regular season.
“I have full confidence in Tuomas serving as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies going forward,” Grizzlies president and general manager of basketball operations Zach Kleiman said in a statement. “Tuomas’ teams at every level have been disciplined, tenacious and connected on both sides of the floor, consistently exceeding expectations. We look forward to the same in Memphis.”
The first-time head coach was asked to lead Memphis through a tumultuous period as it suffered through a late-season spiral that led to Jenkins’ firing and ended with the team dropping from No. 2 to No. 8 in the Western Conference standings before the start of the playoffs.
With Iisalo as interim head coach, the Grizzlies went 4-5 in the regular season before making it through the Play-In Tournament as the No. 8 seed. Memphis was swept in the first round by the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Iisalo, the first Finnish-born head coach in NBA history, showed signs of development in his short stint as interim head coach, and Grizzlies star Ja Morant endorsed Iisalo’s candidacy to remain head coach after the season was over.
“I feel like Tuomas is a good coach,” Morant said during his end-of-season press conference last Sunday. “For me, going into my film sessions with him or just talking about the game of basketball, seeing and hearing that he sees the same thing I see out there on the floor. I wouldn’t say it’s been surprising, but it’s been very exciting.”
(Photo: Justin Ford / Getty Images)
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