Darko Rajakovic is a Serbian born head coach for the Toronto Raptors and a former player. In the 2023 offseason, Rajakovic has agreed to become the head coach for the young Raptors squad replacing Nick Nurse. Rajakovic completed his bachelors degree in sports management and Basketball coaching from the Alfa BK University in the year 2006.
He continued his passion for coaching and started acting as a head coach in the NBA-G-League for two years. Additionally, Rajakovic was also with the Serbian men’s Basketball Team in the 2019 FIBA World Cup of China as an assistant coach under Aleksandar Dordevic. The Serbian team finished in fifth place that year.
Until last season, the Raptors were headed by Nick Nurse but due to the poor performance by the Raptors in the play-in-tournament Nurse was laid-off and he is currently rendering his service as a head coach for Philadelphia 76ers and will train the 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid and the potential guard James Harden.
Darko Rajakovic Contract
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, The Toronto Raptors has offered the Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach to become the franchise's new head coach and guide the young Raptors squad. The term and conditions of the deal is yet not disclosed however some have suspected it to be a multi-year deal that can also lead to an extension if the performance permits. Additionally it becomes challenging to nail down a coach salary as the contract details are not publicly known.
Rajakovic started his coaching stint by joining the Oklahoma City Thunder as an assistant coach in 2014. He was working under the senior coach Scott Brooks and fostered in developing many future MVP’s like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Additionally, he also helped the Thunder to qualify consecutively for four playoffs 2016 (till the conference finals), 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Later on, he was appointed as an assistant coach of Phoenix Suns for only season, 2019-20 and since 2020 Rajakovic has been heading Memphis Grizzlies under the senior coach Taylor Jenkins and coaching the deadly duo of Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. who have an impactful season last year where Morant was a All-Star selection and Jackson Jr. was the (DPOY) Defensive player of the year.
Thus, Rajakovic spent nine years as an assistant coach before joining the Raptors in the 2023 offseason.
FAQs
A. The Toronto Raptors Head Coach was born in SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia.
A. Born on February 22, 1979 Darko Rajakovic is a 44-year-old senior coach for the Toronto Raptors.
A. Gaga Rajakovic is the wife of the Toranto Raptors head coach.
A. Darko Rajakovic is a Serbian born coach but holds an American nationality.
A. Darko Rajakovic has spent 9 years as an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, and Memphis Grizzlies before becoming a head coach for the Toronto Raptors in 2023.
