Jama Mahlalela (born 1980) is a Swazi-Canadian basketball coach, currently an

assistant coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hun ...

for the Golden State Warriors 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). Previously he has served as the

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 ...

Raptors 905 The Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Mississauga, Ontario, and are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 began play in the 2015–16 season and play their home games at Paramount Fi ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

and an assistant coach for the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

Career

University of British Columbia

Mahlalela played basketball for the

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands just outside the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thu ...

. He played for five years, served as a team captain, and helped the team win a

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

title in 2003. Mahlalela graduated in 2004 with a Bachelor of

Kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human healt ...

degree from UBC and the Jama Mahlalela Award was created in his honour.

Toronto Raptors (2013–2021)

Mahlalela started with the

in 2006 as a member of the community development staff, leading the Raptors Basketball Academy and various clinics throughout Canada. He was named director of basketball operations for NBA Asia in 2009 and oversaw the League’s clinics, youth programs and elite-level development from his base in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. Mahlalela began his tenure as an assistant coach in the 2013–14 NBA season. On June 19, 2018, Mahlalela was named as the new head coach for the Raptors' affiliated

of the

. On December 4, 2020, it was announced that Mahlalela had rejoined the Toronto Raptors coaching staff as an assistant behind head coach Nick Nurse.

Golden State Warriors (2021–present)

On August 13, 2021, the Golden State Warriors hired Mahlalela as an assistant coach and director of player development. In Mahlalela's first season, the Warriors won the

2022 NBA Finals The 2022 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2021–22 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Western Conference champion Golden State War ...

against the Boston Celtics in 6 games.

Personal life

Mahlalela ran many youth basketball organizations while he was with the Raptors. He has also worked for NBA Cares.

References