The Toronto Raptors made Darko Rajakovic, who spent the last four seasons alongside Taylor Jenkins with the Memphis Grizzlies, their next head coach and the replacement for the now-departed Nick Nurse. Toronto just narrowly missed out on making history with this hire.
Rajakovic is just the second Serbian head coach in NBA history, as the Phoenix Suns made history when they hired Igor Kokoskov way back in 2018. With the nonstop influx of Balkan-born names coming into the NBA and succeeding, he will not be the last one to get a position like this.
While Rajakovic’s hire has earned some very important co-signs from big names, the biggest one yet came from fellow Serb and Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic. The two-time MVP knows Rajakovic well, and he seems to believe the Raptors made a terrific hire when they poached him away from Memphis.
Jokic said that Rajakovic’s promotion was “deserved” before adding that he has a ton of respect for him and believes that he will do a quality job in charge of the Raptors. That is quite a powerful voice for the Raptors to have in their corner.
Nikola Jokic on Darko Rajakovic, via @joevardon "I think it’s a lot of respect for him and for his work. I think it is deserved. He’s been through a lot. I think he deserves it. I think he is going to do a great job there."
— (((Eric Koreen))) (@ekoreen) June 11, 2023
Nikola Jokic praised the Toronto Raptors for hiring Darko Rajakovic
Rajakovic got his coaching start in Serbia as a youth team coach, spending 10 seasons between Borac Cacak and powerhouse Crvena zvezda. Rajakovic and Jokic likely know each other from the Serbian national team, as he was an assistant coach on Serbia’s 2019 FIBA World Cup team.
The Raptors are still unsure of which direction they will head in during the next few weeks and months, though the hire of Rajakovic gives them the opportunity to forge ahead on either path. If they choose a rebuild, his reputation as a developer of young talent will likely appeal to Toronto.
If they choose to go for the postseason, however, they can take solace in the fact that they hired the top assistant from one of the most consistently terrific offensive teams in the league over the last few seasons. It was only a matter of time before someone made him a head coach.
While Jokic could be supporting his former coach and fellow countryman, the fact that one of the best players in the league (if not the outright best) gave him a strong recommendation shows the respect that he has in some corners of the league. Raptors fans had better hope Jokic’s assessment is correct.