Who is Tuomas Iisalo? Meet Grizzlies offensive mastermind who succeeded Taylor Jenkins as Memphis HC

The Memphis Grizzlies took the basketball world by storm with the shock firing of Taylor Jenkins on Friday. Lead assistant Tuomas Iisalo will reportedly serve as the interim head coach, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

Jenkins had reportedly lost the locker room, and the team struggled to find consistency. He was fired after being called to the Grizzlies office on Friday, per Charania.

Memphis general manager Zach Kleiman issued a statement following Jenkins' firing:

“I'm genuinely appreciative of Taylor's contributions to this team and this city over the past six seasons," Kleiman said. "This was a difficult decision, given the consistent and tangible development of our players and overall success under Taylor's leadership. I wish Taylor the very best going forward."

Jenkins is the Grizzlies' winningest coach with a regular season record of 250-214.

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Who is Tuomas Iisalo? The Memphis Grizzlies interim head coach

Tuomas Iisalo is a former Finnish professional player and coach who was the head coach of Paris Basketball in 2023-24. He won the EuroCup and was named Coach of the Year.

Iisalo has been reportedly tasked to guide Memphis in an interim role. Not many know much about the 42-year Finland native who joined the Grizzlies last offseason after he impressed the organization with his success at Paris Basketball in the EuroCup, where he led a record-breaking offense and up-tempo play.

He began his coaching journey right after retiring, first with Tapiolan Honka. He then moved to Germany to coach Crailsheim, where he spent five seasons and guided the team from the second division to a fifth-place finish in the top league during the 2020-21 season.

Afterwards, he took charge of Telekom Baskets Bonn. His time there saw him lead them to a third-place finish in the German League, followed by a championship win in the FIBA Champions League in 2023.

His first task will be to lead Memphis at home against the LA Lakers on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. IST.