Can the Grizzlies Former Interim Head Coach Lead Memphis?

After the shocking firing of Taylor Jenkins as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies just a couple of weeks before the NBA Playoffs were set to begin, interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo had his hands full right out of the gate. His team was struggling, his head coach was gone, the media were adding fuel to the fire, and they were set to start the playoffs in a matter of days. Needless to say, it was a tumultuous time to be a Grizzlies fan. Now, an offseason removed from all that drama, the Grizzlies and their fans can finally see what kind of head coach they have in Memphis.

While he was brought in as a Grizzlies assistant on July 7th, 2024, Tuomas built most of his basketball coaching resume in Europe. Across the pond, Iisalo captured the 2023-24 EuroCup championship and EuroCup Coach of the Year award in his first season as head coach of Paris Basketball. He also led Paris to a 20-1 record and the title in the club’s second EuroCup season while organizing the best offense in the competition’s history. In 2024, Iisalo was named the LNB Pro A Coach of the Year after leading Paris to the French Leaders Cup title and French LNB Pro A Finals. Even before his time with Paris Basketball, Iisalo won consecutive Bundesliga Coach of the Year Awards in his two seasons from 2021 to 2023 as head coach of Telekom Baskets Bonn in Germany. He was named the 2023 Champions League Coach of the Year as well after leading Baskets Bonn to the 2023 Champions League title.

Now, while he only went 4-5 during the regular season and got swept by the Thunder in the postseason during his first stint as head coach of the Grizzlies, this is simply too small a sample size to judge him properly as a leader of a team. Coming into this year, the players have gotten more used to him; he can design his own game plans and schemes, and he himself has a little bit more experience coaching in the NBA. So, to answer the question in the title, can Tuomas Iisalo lead the Grizzlies to success? His record suggests he has the potential to, but we really won’t know until we see him and the Grizzlies in some real NBA action.