On Saturday, the Raptors surprised many with the appointment of Darko Rajakovic to take over from Nick Nurse. Second European coach to take the reins of a franchise after Igor Kokoskov, the former Thunder and Grizzlies assistant received congratulations from Nikola Jokic.
” I love that ! He’s a great guy and I really like him.” reacted Jokic about the choice of the Raptors. “He’s been there for a very, very long time. I’ll say it took him 10 years to go from G-League coach to head coach in the NBA. I have a lot of respect for him and his work. He deserves it. He observed many things. He’s been through a lot. I think he deserves everything that happens to him. He’s going to do a very, very good job there. »
Obviously, the fact that Darko Rajakovic is Serbian like him, and like Kokoskov, confirms the impact of this country on world basketball, and the NBA. Other Serbs have important positions behind the scenes, and this may be just the beginning
“He is the second Serbian coach to become an NBA coach. Igor was the first, he is the second. The NBA is growing and maybe other guys are ready to pick up the slack, and they’ll do a good job. »
