Jordi Fernandez joins Nets as head coach
The Brooklyn Nets have a new coach – their sixth coach, interim included – since the 2019-20 season.
The Nets are hoping Jordi Fernandez lasts more than a couple of seasons.
In his first NBA head coaching job, Fernandez is hoping that, too.
Brooklyn made the decision official in a new release Monday, three days after the season ended for the Sacramento Kings, where Fernandez was the associate head coach under head coach Mike Brown.
Fernandez takes over a team that finished 32-50 and missed the NBA playoffs. The Nets are amid a retooling with guard-forward Mikal Bridges their featured player.
Fernandez’s coaching experience
Fernandez, 41, was born in Spain and showed interest in coaching as a teen, helping out with youth squads.
He joined Impact Performance Basketball in Nevada in 2006 as a player development coach and joined the Cleveland Cavaliers as a player development coach. He was also an assistant coach and head coach of the G League Canton Charge.
The Denver Nuggets hired him 2016, and he stayed there until Kings head coach Brown hired him in 2022.
Fernandez is the head coach of Canada’s men’s national basketball team that will try to medal at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
He led Canada to a bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
He has also served as an assistant for Spain and Nigeria’s national teams.
What Fernandez is saying about the Nets’ job
“My family and I are thrilled to join such an incredible organization and become part of the vibrant Brooklyn community,” Fernandez said in a statement.
“I am eager to get to work with this talented group of players and collectively drive our team forward.
“Together, we will be fully committed to building something special for Nets fans and the borough to be proud of for years to come.”
What the Nets are saying about Fernandez?
In a statement announcing the hiring, Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks said: “We’re thrilled to announce Jordi Fernández as Brooklyn’s new head coach.
“As we progressed through an extensive search over the past six weeks, it became increasingly clear that Jordi is the best coach to lead our team forward.
“Jordi brings a diverse set of experiences and basketball knowledge gained over the course of a coaching career that has taken him around the world.
“Each step of the way, Jordi has consistently demonstrated the ability to implement strong processes and creative systems designed to optimize each team’s specific roster.
“He’s proven the ability to build genuine relationships and garner the respect of players of all levels, and we’re confident that our players will benefit greatly from his expertise.
“We look forward to Jordi, Kelsey and their children joining the Nets family and calling Brooklyn home.”
Fernandez co-authored academic paper
In 2009, Fernandez and co-authors published a paper titled “Identifying and analyzing the construction and effectiveness of offensive plays in basketball by using systematic observation” in the Behavior Research Methods scientific journal.
The paper “proposes a new model of analysis for studying the effectiveness and construction of offensive basketball plays in order to identify their outcomes, thus providing coaches with an important device for improving or consolidating them.”