Brooklyn Nets Hire Kings’ Assistant Jordi Fernandez as New Head Coach

Jordi Fernandez coaching Canada basketball national team.
Jordi Fernandez coaching Canada basketball national team at City of Granada Tournament. Photo by Alex Camara/Shutterstock (14059422j)

The Brooklyn Nets have wrapped up their head coaching search. The franchise announced that they have hired Sacramento Kings’ assistant Jordi Fernandez for the position.

The Nets fired head coach Jacque Vaughn after a poor start to the 2023-24 season, with assistant Kevin Ollie taking over on an interim basis. Brooklyn finished the campaign at No. 11 on the Eastern Conference standings with a 32-50 record.

Fernandez has served as the Kings’ assistant for the past two years while also coaching Canada’s national team, with whom he won a bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He previously had a stint as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets and served as the head coach for the G League team Canton Charge.

The Nets considered a number of candidates for their head coaching vacancy, including the former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, but ended up deciding that Fernandez was the best option available.

“We’re thrilled to announce Jordi Fernández as Brooklyn’s new head coach,” said Nets’ general manager Sean Marks in a statement. “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.”

Harley loves music and tries to go to a music festival every summer. When he's not listening to music, he writes about movies, food and wine, art, and sport.