The French basketball media says that Tuomas Iisalo is moving to the NBA.
Rumors of a Finnish basketball coach Tuomas Iisalon from the transition to the North American Basketball League to the NBA are getting stronger. French basketball media BeBasket by Iisalo wants to leave Paris Basketball for the NBA. France’s largest sports magazine L’Equipe tells on the other hand, citing his information, that Iisalo would have announced his departure to the players of the Parisian team after the finals of the French league.
Iisalo has been one of the most celebrated basketball coaches in Europe in recent years. In the season that ended, Iisalo led Paris Basketball to victory in the second European competition, the Eurocup and the Cup in France. In the league finals, the Euroleague team Monaco was stronger.
With the Eurocup victory, Paris Basketball earned a place in Europe’s first competition, the Euroleague.
Before moving to Paris Basketball, Iisalo won the Champions League as Bonn’s head coach and led the team to victory in the regular season of the Bundesliga.
A well-known German basketball journalist Robert Heusel tells X, that the NBA has a strong interest in hiring Iisalo either as a head coach or as a first assistant coach. According to Heusel, nothing has been agreed yet, and a decision on the future is expected in the coming weeks.
Iisalo signed a multi-year contract with Paris Basketball last summer.
Iisalo said in an interview with Urheilu last summer that he does not dream of coaching in the NBA.
According to Iisalo, success in Europe does not correlate with the NBA, because the rules and operating culture are different. For a family of five, it would mean building a completely new path.
– Instead of climbing some sort of coaching ladder towards the maximum peak, we have tried to find a solution that is best for both sports and family. It’s not about one person’s shop, but I think of this as a family business, Iisalo said less than a year ago.
About successful Finnish basketball coaches Gordon Herbert told Urheilu on Monday that he had held extensive negotiations, including with North American NBA clubs.
– I had negotiations with a Japanese, a Chinese and two top European teams, but I was contacted by the NBA and I ended up waiting before writing a contract anywhere, Herbert revealed.
Herbert sensationally led Germany to the World Cup last year. He will leave the German national team after the Paris Olympics in late summer.