Igor Stefan Kokoškov ( sr-Cyrl, Игор Стефан Кокошков; born December 17, 1971) is a Serbian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach who is an assistant coach for the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He had spent 19 years in the NBA as an assistant coach, with a brief stint as head coach for the Phoenix Suns for a full season. He spent a season in Turkey with Fenerbahçe, before returning to the NBA to become an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks in 2021. Kokoškov was the first European to be a full-time assistant coach in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I

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, and the first non-American to hold such a position in the NBA. In 2004, he became the first non-American assistant coach to win an

NBA championship The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

, and the first to serve on an

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coaching staff. He is also the first coach born and raised outside of North America to be hired as a

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

in the NBA. He won

EuroBasket 2017 EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...

, while working as the head coach of the Slovenian men's national team.

Coaching career

Kokoškov, a graduate of the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-ba ...

, coached various club teams in Belgrade, and was on the coaching staff of the Yugoslav men's and junior national teams. At the age of 24, Kokoškov became the youngest coach in Yugoslavian basketball history, shortly after suffering serious injuries sustained during the 1990 automobile accident, which ended a promising basketball playing career. His savvy, ambitious nature and command of the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

were factors when he was hired by the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

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, as a part of their full-time coaching staff in 1999, making him the first European to hold such a position in

Division I men's

NBA assistant (2000–2018)

In 2000, Kokoškov became the first non-American to be hired as a full-time assistant coach in the NBA, by the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, under head coach

Alvin Gentry Alvin Harris Gentry (born November 5, 1954) is an American professional basketball coach. A former college basketball player, Gentry has led six different NBA teams. He served as an interim head coach for the Miami Heat at the end of the 1994– ...

. In 2003, he joined the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

staff of head coach Larry Brown. He won an

in 2004 with the Pistons. At the 2006 NBA All-Star Game he served on the Eastern Conference coaching staff. On 20 June 2008, Kokoškov was named an assistant coach of the Phoenix Suns.Suns Complete Coaching Staff
/ref> On 29 May 2013, Kokoškov was named as assistant coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. On 17 February 2015, Kokoškov was named as assistant coach for the Orlando Magic, until the end of the season.Magic Name Igor Kokoskov Assistant Coach
/ref> On 1 July 2015, Kokoškov was hired by the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

to be an assistant coach. On 5 December 2016, Kokoškov led Utah to a win over Los Angeles Lakers, 107–101. Jazz head coach Quin Snyder had fallen ill and missed their game against the Lakers. He would remain assistant coach for the Jazz until their run in the

2018 NBA Playoffs The 2018 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2017–18 season. The playoffs began on April 14, 2018 and ended on June 8 at the conclusion of the 2018 NBA Finals. Overview * The Houston Rockets e ...

concluded, which ended on 8 May 2018 with a 112–102 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Phoenix Suns (2018–2019)

On 2 May 2018, Kokoškov was hired as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns, returning to the team he was previously with from 2008 to 2013. He became the first head coach born and raised outside of North America in NBA history, and officially took on the role on 14 May. In his official head coaching debut in the NBA on 17 October, Kokoškov led the Suns to a 121–100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. However, they finished the season with a 19–63 record, tied for the second-worst record in the league. On 22 April 2019, the Suns fired Kokoškov.

Return to assistant coaching (2019–2020)

On 13 June 2019, Kokoškov was named an assistant coach for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

under new head coach

Luke Walton Luke Theodore Walton (born March 28, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 10 seasons in the NBA as a f ...

's coaching staff.

Fenerbahçe (2020–2021)

On 4 July 2020, Kokoškov was named the head coach for Fenerbahçe Beko of the Turkish Basketball Super League and the EuroLeague. It is his first club coaching appointment in Europe after 25 years. Kokoskov had a 20–14 record in the EuroLeague and reached the EuroLeague Playoffs where his team got swept by

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

. Also, he went 22–8 in the Turkish League before his team got swept by newly crowned EuroLeague champion Anadolu Efes in the domestic finals. On 27 July 2021, he parted ways with Fenerbahçe.

Return to NBA assistant coaching (2021–)

On 29 July 2021, Kokoškov was appointed an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks. After spending one season with Dallas, on 6 July 2022, Kokoškov was named as assistant coach for the

National team coaching career

Serbia and Montenegro assistant (2004–2005)

Kokoškov was an assistant coach of the Serbia and Montenegro national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the

2005 EuroBasket The 2005 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2005, was the 34th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe. It also served as Europe qualifier for the 2006 FIBA World Championship, giving a berth ...

, under renowned European head coach Željko Obradović.

Georgia (2008–2015)

On 18 April 2008, Kokoškov was named the head coach of the

Georgia men's national basketball team The Georgia men's national basketball team ( ka, საქართველოს ეროვნული საკალათბურთო ნაკრები) represents the country of Georgia in international basketball matches, and is ...

. He coached Georgia at

2011 EuroBasket EuroBasket 2011 was the 37th men's European Basketball Championship, held by FIBA Europe. The competition was hosted by Lithuania. This was the second time EuroBasket had been held in Lithuania, the country having also hosted the 1939 cha ...

in Lithuania, 2013 EuroBasket in

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and 2015 EuroBasket in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. He left after EuroBasket 2015.

Slovenia (2016–2017)

On 18 January 2016, the

Basketball Federation of Slovenia The Basketball Federation of Slovenia ( sl, Košarkarska zveza Slovenije) also known as KZS is the governing body of basketball in Slovenia. It was founded in 1950 as a member of the larger Yugoslav Basketball Federation (see also: Basketball in ...

named Kokoškov the new head coach of the Slovenian men's national team, for the next two years. Former Serbian coach Božidar Maljković recommended him for this position to Slovenian Federation Secretary-General Rasho Nesterović. His contract with Slovenia's national team ended after the

where Slovenia won the gold medal.

Serbia (2019–2021)

On 20 November 2019, the

Basketball Federation of Serbia The Basketball Federation of Serbia ( sr, Кошаркашки савез Србије, Košarkaški savez Srbije) is a non-profit organization and the national sports governing body for basketball in Serbia. The organization represents Serbia in ...

named Kokoškov the new head coach of the Serbia national team. He appointed

Dejan Milojević Dejan Milojević ( sr-cyrl, Дејан Милојевић; born 15 April 1977) is a Serbian professional basketball coach and former player. Currently, since summer 2021, he is an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Bask ...

, Vladimir Jovanović and Jovica Antonić as assistant coaches, as well as Bogdan Karaičić as scout. On 14 September 2021, he parted ways with the Basketball Federation of Serbia as the Serbian team coach.

Personal life

In 1990, Kokoškov was part of a near-fatal car crash which shattered his knee and ended his basketball career. Kokoškov and his wife, Patricia, were married in the summer of 2009. They have two children: a son and a daughter. On 18 June 2010, Kokoškov became an American citizen. Georgian President

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.

honored Kokoškov with an Order of Honour, Georgia's highest civilian honor, on 18 December 2011.

Head coaching record

NBA

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Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

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EuroLeague

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Playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

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References

External links

The Official Athletic Site of University of Missouri

Kokoškov preuzeo reprezentaciju Gruzije
MTSMondo, 18 April 2008
Phoenix Suns coach Igor Kokoskov's journey began with near-fatal auto accident
Arizona Republic, 2 July 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kokoskov, Igor 1971 births Living people American people of Serbian descent Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches Detroit Pistons assistant coaches Fenerbahçe basketball coaches FIBA EuroBasket-winning coaches Los Angeles Clippers assistant coaches KK Crvena zvezda youth players Missouri Tigers men's basketball coaches Naturalized citizens of the United States Orlando Magic assistant coaches OKK Beograd coaches Sportspeople from Pančevo Phoenix Suns assistant coaches Phoenix Suns head coaches Recipients of the Order of Honor (Georgia) Sacramento Kings assistant coaches Serbian men's basketball coaches Serbian expatriate basketball people in Turkey Serbian expatriate basketball people in the United States Serbian expatriate basketball people in Slovenia Serbian expatriate basketball people in Georgia (country) Serbia national basketball team coaches Slovenia national basketball team coaches University of Belgrade Faculty of Sport and Physical Education alumni Utah Jazz assistant coaches Recipients of the Presidential Order of Excellence