5 fun facts about new Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković

The Toronto Raptors are set to kick off the Darko Rajaković era.

While the move hasn’t officially been announced, Rajaković’s reported hire as the team’s 10th head coach in franchise history should become official shortly with the NBA Draft some 10 days away on June 2022.

It’s an interesting challenge ahead for the rookie head coach, who takes over a roster that finished ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 41-41 record before bowing out to the Chicago Bulls in the 9-10 play-in game.

Other final candidates in the search reportedly included Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Sacramento Kings associate head coach Jordi Fernández, and Virtus Bologna and Spanish national team head coach Sergio Scariolo.

The 44-year-old Serbian Rajaković replaces Nick Nurse, who has since been hired by the Philadelphia 76ers as their new bench boss.

During his five seasons in charge of the team, Nurse accumulated a regular season record of 227-163, while winning the 2019 NBA championship in his first year as head coach and the 2019-20 NBA Coach of the Year award.

Rajaković will have a long road ahead to lead the Raptors back to contention, but here’s what we know already about the new guy in charge:

1. He’s been coaching since he was 16

While many players turn to coaching after retiring from a pro career, Rajaković began his coaching career while still in his teen years. He worked with the youth teams at Borac Čačak before taking over the Crvena zvezda youth system at age 19.

Winning two Serbian youth titles as a coach, Rajaković eventually left Serbia at age 30 to become the head coach of the fourth-tier Espacio Torrelodones in Spain, where he spent three seasons before a move to the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA G League as an assistant.

2. Nikola Jokic is a fan of his

Two-time NBA MVP — and potentially soon-to-be NBA Finals MVP — Nikola Jokic is among Rajaković’s supporters.

“I think it’s a lot of respect for him and for his work. I think it is deserved. He’s been through a lot. I think he deserves it. I think he is going to do a great job there,” the Denver Nuggets star told reporters this weekend at a media availability about his fellow countryman.

“I think he deserves it and I think he’s going to do a great job.”

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic speaks on fellow Serbian countryman Darko Rajakovic, who was recently hired as the new Toronto Raptors head coach. pic.twitter.com/VsldsKMKYm

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 12, 2023

3. He’s the second European in history to become an NBA head coach

Rajaković follows in the footsteps of Igor Kokoskov, a current Atlanta Hawks assistant coach who served as the Phoenix Suns’ head coach in the 2018-19 season.

Though Kokoskov was let go after one season of putting up a 19-63 record, he was both the first Serbian-born and first European to be named NBA head coach.

4. The Raptors are the fifth NBA franchise he’s worked with

Getting his North American coaching start as a Summer League assistant with the San Antonio Spurs from 2004 to 2011, Rajaković has now spent time with four different NBA organizations.

Serving as an assistant from 2014–2019 with the Oklahoma City Thunder, 2019–2020 with the Phoenix Suns, and 2020–2023 with the Memphis Grizzlies, Rajaković has just 25 franchises left to go before he’s worked with every team in the league.

5. He’s a writer

While actually tracking them down is tough to do as they seem to be lost on the internet, Rajaković authored a series of articles for slovakbasket (as reported by ESPN) about the evolution of the pick-and-roll within the game of basketball.

If the whole “NBA head coach” gig doesn’t work out, perhaps he’s got a future as a basketball blogger.

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