Tuomas Iisalo was the 2023-24 EuroCup Coach of the Year before joining Memphis this season.
The Memphis Grizzlies today announced the team has named Tuomas Iisalo (twa-mas EE-za-low) as head coach. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“I have full confidence in Tuomas serving as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies going forward,” said Grizzlies President and General Manager of Basketball Operations Zachary Z. Kleiman. “Tuomas’ 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 was appointed interim head coach on March 28, 2025, and guided the Grizzlies to the NBA Playoffs as the eighth seed in the Western Conference. He originally was hired by Memphis on July 7, 2024, as the lead assistant coach following a decorated coaching career in Europe.
Before coming to Memphis, Iisalo captured the 2023-24 EuroCup championship and EuroCup Coach of the Year award in his first season as head coach of Paris Basketball. The architect of the top offense in competition history, Iisalo led Paris to a 20-1 record and the title in the club’s second EuroCup season.
Iisalo was named the 2024 LNB Pro A Coach of the Year after leading Paris to the French Leaders Cup title and French LNB Pro A Finals. In addition, he was selected as head coach of Team World in the LNB All-Star Game. Paris’s 25-game winning streak across competitions stands as the longest ever in the French League.
Previously, Iisalo won consecutive Bundesliga Coach of the Year awards in his two seasons (2021-23) as head coach of Telekom Baskets Bonn in Germany. He was named the 2023 Champions League Coach of the Year after leading Baskets Bonn to the 2023 Champions League title. Iisalo also coached five seasons (2016-21) in Germany for Crailsheim Merlins.
The first Finnish-born coach in NBA history, the Helsinki native played his entire 14-year professional basketball career in Finland and won the 2009 Finnish Cup with Espoon Honka before beginning his coaching career as head coach of Tapiolan Honka in 2014. He also played 57 games for the Finnish men’s national team.
