Jordi Fernández
Fernández in 2023
Sacramento Kings
PositionAssociate head coach
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1982-12-27) December 27, 1982
Badalona, Spain
NationalitySpanish
Career information
CollegeUniversity of Barcelona (2001–2006)
Hogeschool van Amsterdam
Coaching career2006–present
Career history
As coach:
2006–2009Impact Basketball Academy (players development)
2009–2013Cleveland Cavaliers (players development)
2013Spain U19 (assistant)
2013–2014Canton Charge (assistant)
2014–2016Canton Charge
2016–2022Denver Nuggets (assistant)
2022–2024Sacramento Kings (associate HC)
2023–presentCanada
Medals
Men's basketball
Head Coach for  Canada
FIBA World Cup
Bronze medal – third place2023 Philippines–Japan–Indonesia

Jordi Fernández Torres (born December 27, 1982) is a Spanish basketball coach, currently the associate head coach for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as well as the head coach of the Canadian men's national team.

Coaching career

In his native Spain, Fernández started his coaching career at age 15, working in the youth setup of clubs like CB Sant Josep de Badalona and CB Sant Boi.[1] At Club Basquet L´Hospitalet he also served as athletic trainer of the LEB Plata side.[2] He spent some time abroad, coaching in Norway and the Netherlands and attended a summer camp at the University of Oklahoma.[1]

In the summer of 2006, the Spaniard moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he joined the coaching staff of the Impact Basketball Academy.[2]

Fernández began his National Basketball Association (NBA) coaching career in 2009 when he was hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers as a player development coach.[3] In 2013, Fernández took an opportunity to join the Canton Charge in the NBA Development League as the top assistant coach. One year later he became the head coach.[4]

In 2009, Mike Brown, former head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, hired Fernández to be a player development coach with the team.[5] There, he tutored Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, Matthew Dellavedova and other players.[3] Mike Gansey, the Cavaliers Assistant General Manager, spoke highly of Fernández during his tenure with the Cavaliers: "Whoever walks through that door, [Fernández] can relate to them... he's either watched it, lived it or seen it. That's why he's so valuable."[5] Fernández also worked with LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal during his time with the Cavaliers. He was also on the coaching staff during the Cavaliers' 2016 NBA Championship.[5]

To start the 2016–17 season, the Denver Nuggets added Fernández to their coaching staff as an assistant coach.[6]

Fernández was referenced in ESPN’s annual report on potential coaching candidates to watch in April 2018.[7] Players on the Nuggets’ roster spoke highly of Fernández. Monté Morris said, "He's an all about business guy."[3]

On August 12, 2022, Fernández was hired as the associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings.[8] After being hired as associate head coach, Fernández served as the head coach of the Kings' Summer League team in 2022. He helped the 4th overall pick in the 2022 draft, Keegan Murray, win the 2022 Summer League MVP award.[9] On December 14, 2022, Fernández took over as acting head coach after the Kings' head coach, Mike Brown, was ejected mid-game. He assumed the same role for back to back games against the Denver Nuggets on December 27, 2022, and December 28, 2022, with Brown entering health and safety protocols.[10] Before playing the Nuggets on December 27, 2022, Nuggets head coach, Michael Malone, whom Fernández worked under in his previous coaching stop, said, "I think one day Jordi will be a head coach in this league. He’s been a head coach in the G League. He’s got great international experience. This team is on the right path with the right coaches, so I’m really happy for them.” [11]

National team career

In 2013, Fernández served as an assistant coach for Spain's U19 men's national team.[12] From 2017 until 2019, he worked as an assistant coach on the Spanish men's national team.[13]

Fernández was an assistant coach for the Nigeria national team under Mike Brown at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.[14] The two had first met, when Fernández worked at the Impact Basketball Academy.[15]

On June 27, 2023, Fernández replaced Nick Nurse as the head coach of Team Canada's men's basketball team.[16]

Education

Fernandez's background in academia provides him with a unique perspective on coaching.[3] His college degree is in sports sciences, and is one completed academic article away from his PhD in sports psychology. He has extensively studied and researched the observation of human behavior. In 2009, Fernandez co-authored an academic article titled Identifying and analyzing the construction and effectiveness of offensive plays in basketball by using systematic observation.[3][5]

Head coaching record

NBA D-League

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Canton 2014–15 503119.6202nd in East523.400 Lost Semifinals
Canton 2015–16 503119.6202nd in Central422.500 Lost Semifinals
Career 1006238.620945.444

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Jordi Fernández, paso a paso". A pie de cancha (in Spanish). April 25, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Morenilla, Juan (December 15, 2022). "Jordi Fernández, primer español que ejerce de entrenador principal en un partido de la NBA". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "From working out Kyrie Irving to Brazilian excursions with Anderson Varejao: Nuggets assistant Jordi Fernandez reflects on coaching career that began with Cavs". bsndenver.com. Archived from the original on March 7, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  4. ↑ Jordi Fernandez leaves Charge to be Denver Nuggets assistant coach
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Jordi Fernandez combines academic background, worldwide experience as Denver Nuggets assistant". denverpost.com. July 22, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Denver Nuggets add Jordi Fernandez to coaching staff - Denver Stiffs". denverstiffs.com. July 4, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  7. ↑ "NBA coaching candidates: Big names, top prospects and wild cards play". espn.com. April 20, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Kings Announce Coaching Staff for 2022-23 Season". NBA.com. August 12, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Kings rookie Keegan Murray named MVP of NBA 2K23 Summer League". NBA.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Coach Brown Enters Health And Safety Protocols". www.nba.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  11. ↑ Biderman, Chris (December 28, 2022). "Nuggets coach Michael Malone says Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez can be NBA head coach". The Sacramento Bee.
  12. ↑ "Jordi Fernández named Senior Men's National Team Head Coach, taking over for Nick Nurse". www.basketball.ca. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  13. ↑ Morenilla, Juan (June 28, 2023). "Jordi Fernández, nuevo seleccionador de Canadá". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Team Roster Nigeria" (PDF). olympics.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Mike Brown and Jordi Fernández: the Olympic duo behind the most talked about team in the NBA". International Olympic Committee. May 28, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  16. ↑ Anderson, Jason (June 27, 2023). "Sacramento Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez replaces Nick Nurse as coach of Team Canada". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
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