Masai Ujiri reveals why Darko Rajaković landed Raptors coaching gig
Much like many modern job interviews, the process of landing a new head coach all started on a Zoom call for the Toronto Raptors.
Darko Rajaković was officially announced as the team’s 10th-ever head coach on Tuesday, three days after the initial reports dropped of his hire.
Rajaković, a first-time head coach, beat out a list of approximately 15 candidates, per sources.
With six NBA head coaches finding new jobs this summer, Toronto was largely linked to first-time candidates rather than established veteran coaches.
“It all comes together in some kind of way and the process was long and tough, but we know we came up with the right candidate,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri told the media and a crowd of fans gathered outside of Scotiabank Arena. “It’s such an honour after a long process, choosing what we feel is the right fit and an incredible coach with great passion.”
Becoming the second-ever Serbian and European-born head coach in the league (after Igor Kokoskov, who coached the Phoenix Suns in 2019), Rajaković has a tough task ahead of him to reinvigorate a Raptors franchise that finished ninth in the Eastern Conference with a 41-41 record in 2022-23, before losing in the play-in round to the Chicago Bulls to see their season come to a swift end.
During Ujiri’s own scouting career with the Orlando Magic prior to joining the Raptors’ front office in 2008 (before his stint with the Denver Nuggets), Ujiri revealed he actually lived in Rajaković’s home country for a period of time.
“I never met him at that time. He was probably too young. But, you know, this game takes us to incredible places and the world always kept coming to know like to him his name and all our scouts, representation from the teams, it’s all intertwined in some way, and it’s all related in some way,” Ujiri added.
Having spent time in various coaching roles with the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Phoenix Suns before his most recent gig with the Memphis Grizzlies, Rajaković couldn’t stop smiling as he was welcomed to Toronto for the first time.
“This means the world to me, means so much to [the] Serbian community here in Toronto,” Rajaković said in his opening remarks at his introduction. “A lot of people reached out to me. It means a lot to [my] family back home and the basketball community in Serbia. I started coaching when I was 16 years old and now, 27 years later, I get appointed to be a head coach of [an] unbelievable organization. To have a chance to live in an amazing city like Toronto is [incredible], and I’m just proud to be here.”
While they didn’t know each other too well before the interview process started, Rajaković sang praises for his new bosses.
“There was always admiration of [the front office], the team, and how much passion and commitment they have to run the things the right way,” Rajaković added. “When I flew over here to meet him in person, I needed to pinch myself. To be in the presence of the best president and the best GM and the best ownership being in the league is a huge, huge privilege.”
“We haven’t told him the bad parts yet,” Ujiri joked.
Rajaković replaces Nick Nurse, who has been hired by the Philadelphia 76ers as their new bench boss since being fired in April.
“Sometimes change is hard. But we believe change is good,” Ujiri added. “It’s been an incredible process for us. I know you have all been patiently waiting, some of you impatiently waiting, but we’re really, really excited.”
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. It’s a tall task to live up to, but Rajaković seems ready as anyone to give it a go.
“I’m just blown away from every day what I’m learning about the organization and the team,” Rajaković added. “The last three days [since I was hired, I’ve had] this smile on my face so much, my jaw is starting to hurt. I’m really, really happy to be here.”
And in typical Ujiri fashion, he closed out the press conference with remarks on his aspirations to win a second NBA championship in Toronto.
“I think we should really honestly like appreciate this moment with the Toronto Raptors, because I think we’ve changed eras a couple of times. I’m calling on all the fans, on everybody… this is a time to follow [the team],” Ujiri added. “We’ve done it here before and we’re gonna do it again.”
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