The Memphis Grizzlies promoted their interim coach Tuomas Iisalo as the head coach of the franchise on Friday.
Iisalo served as the interim head coach of the franchise after they let go of Taylor Jenkins just before heading into the NBA 2025 postseason, despite a 44-29 record.
Iisalo became the first head coach from Finland in the history of the league. Under his guidance, the team closed the regular season on a 4-5 record. They made it to the playoffs as eighth seeds.
However, their playoff campaign couldn’t last beyond the opening round. The Grizzlies were swept by the Western Conference table-toppers Oklahoma City Thunder. Nevertheless, the franchise decided to drop the interim tag off Iisalo, who was hired as an assistant coach last year.
Announcing Iisalo’s promotion, Grizzlies’ president of basketball operations Zachary Kleiman said, “I have full confidence in Tuomas serving as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies going forward.” He added, “Tuomas’s teams at every level have been disciplined, tenacious and connected on both ends of the floor, consistently exceeding expectations. We look forward to the same in Memphis.”
Iisalo played over 50 games with the Finland senior national team. He started his coaching career as head coach of Tapiolan Honka and an assistant with Finland’s U15 team after his playing career. Following this, he worked with Crailsheim Merlins in the Basketball Bundesliga and Telekom Baskets Bonn. He was named the Bundesliga Coach of the Year in 2022 and 2023 after finishing 3rd in the regular season as well as leading the team to record 32 wins and two losses, respectively.
Later in 2023, the 42-year-old won the FIBA Champions League with Bonn. In addition, he received the Basketball Champions League Best Coach honors. After leaving the side after the 2022-23 season, Iisalo joined Paris Basketball of the French LNB Pro A and the Euro Cup as the head coach on a three-year deal. After leading Paris to the 2024 EuroCup Finals, Iisalo was named the EuroCup Coach of the Year in 2024.
He moved to the Memphis Grizzlies as assistant coach in July 2024. His first stint as the head coach of the team came on November 7, 2024, during Grizzlies’ 131-114 win over the LA Lakers due to Jenkins’ absence.
Iisalo has a celebrated legacy in European basketball. It highlights his ability to convert a regular team into a formidable squad. He has his own methodical approach, and seems to have strong connections with players like Ja Morant and Desmond Bane. In fact, Morant spoke highly about Iisalo and said, “I feel like Tuomas is a good coach.” He added, “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.”
Now that the Grizzlies have a long off-season, Iisalo would want to make full use of the opportunity to work on his tactics, integrate his strategies and refine players’ roles in order to make a stronger comeback in the forthcoming season.
