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Tuomas Iisalo will take the helm as the Memphis Grizzles' interim head coach following the sudden sacking of head coach Taylor Jenkins on Friday.
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Who is Tuomas lisalo?
Hailing from Finland, Iisalo is a former Finnish player and a coach. He was head coach of Paris Basketball in 2024, winning the EuroCup and EuruCup coach of the year. Prior to the promotion, he was working as an assistant coach for the Grizzles under Jenkins. lisalo is making history as the first Finnish-born coach in the NBA. With nine games left in the season, Iisalo has a tough challenge ahead of him to lead the Grizzlies to a successful postseason run.
His appointment comes after the Grizzlies parted ways with Jenkins just ahead of the postseason. “I'm genuinely appreciative of Taylor's contributions to this team and this city over the past six seasons. This was a difficult decision, given the consistent and tangible development of our players and overall success under Taylor's leadership. I wish Taylor the very best going forward,” Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman said in a statement.
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Jenkins' Bids Adieu
Jenkins signed a multiyear contract deal with Memphis in June 2022. The 40-year-old has previously served as an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks. He ended his Grizzlies career with a 250-214 win-loss record.
Reacting to the firing on X, platform formerly known as Twitter, a Grizzlies media contributor said: “I’m not going to lie, the Taylor Jenkins firing was inevitable, and it was only a matter of time. this team is in a different place than it was in 2019 and we needed a new compass with that being said, shoutout to everything he did and for developing the hell out of a lot of these guys who are either still here or have moved on.”
