The Memphis Grizzlies are one of the youngest franchises in the NBA.
Considering that they were added to the league before the 1995-96 season, the Memphis Grizzlies finished 30 seasons in the NBA.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies made 14 advances in the postseason, but never passed the Western Conference Finals.
Many were hoping that Taylor Jenkins would end that drought, but he failed to lift his team to that level in six seasons. This task is currently being passed on to Tuomas iisalo, the franchise’s current head coach.
Despite the Grizzlies having a 44-29 record in the 2024-25 season under coach Jenkins, the Grizzlies top brass decided to fire him mid-season.
As a result, Iisalo took over his head coaching duties from Jenkins. Under Iisalo, Grizzlies struggled as they went 4-5 in nine games.
Speaking of Iisalo, he had little experience in NBA coaching, like he did before being named Grizzlies head coach. He was the assistant coach of the team.
The 2024-25 season was also Iisalo’s first year as an assistant coach in the league. With that in mind, it may seem surprising that the Grizzlies hired him as their next head coach.
It is true that Iisalo lacks time in the NBA, but Finnish coaches have extensive coaching experience in Europe.
Isalo began his coaching trip in Finland, but soon moved to Germany. That’s where he showed signs of glow with the Crayl Sim.
Following a five-year stint with the team, he joined the Telecom Basketball Bon. During his tenure with them, Isaro was awarded two German League Coach of the Year Awards.
Before joining the Grizzlies coaching staff, Isaro moved to the Euro Cup and won the league’s Coach of the Year Award.
All things considered, the Grizzlies may have hit the gold by naming them as the team’s head coach, as the franchise wants a decent season under his leadership.