The Memphis Grizzlies have removed the “interim” label from Tuomas Iisalo’s title and hired him as their head coach, the organization announced on Friday.
Iisalo, 42, stepped in as interim head coach this season after the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins in late March. Iisalo was the lead assistant on Jenkins’ staff, joining the organization ahead of the regular season.
In nine regular-season games in the interim role, Iisalo went 4-5 to bring Memphis’ regular-season record to 48-34. The Grizzlies qualified for the NBA Playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference after making it out of the play-in. They were promptly swept by the No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
Prior to joining Memphis, Iisalo coached for several years in Europe. He won the 2023-24 EuroCup championship and EuroCup Coach of the Year award in his first season as head coach of Paris Basketball.
The promotion in Memphis makes Iisalo the first Finnish-born head coach in NBA history.