Luke Walton‘s history is well documented. We dive into the backgrounds and coaching styles of the assistants that the Sacramento Kings have chosen for their staff.
The Sacramento Kings have high expectations this season to make the playoffs. The coaching staff that works with the players daily will have an impact on whether they succeed or fail. With Walton only having three years as a head coach, having a top-notch staff backing him up is a must. We take a look at the staff the Kings have assembled.
Igor Kokoskov
Lead Assistant for the Kings
Igor Kokoskov is second in command for Sacramento and is a highly respected trailblazer. He is the first full-time non-American assistant coach hired in both the NBA and the NCAA. He brings 19 years of NBA knowledge and experience, most of them as an assistant with one lone season as the Phoenix Suns’ head coach.
Being let go at the end of last year is no reflection on Kokoskov’s abilities. The Suns were at the bottom of the league, tied for the second-worst record in the NBA at 19-63.
Phoenix struggled to get five quality players in their starting unit, not to mention their lack of depth and absence of a strong bench unit. It could be Igor didn’t mesh with the roster in general. The Suns were expected to be a low-win team, and it was fit, not lack of wins, that cost Kokoskov his job.
Igor is qualified for anything Sacramento needs him to do. Kokoskov has won at all levels of basketball, both international and NBA. He won a gold medal with Slovenia in the FIBA EuroBasket 2017.
Igor’s Style Matching with Walton’s
Kokoskov fits with the Sacramento Kings’ overall plan of how the team operates on the court. An up-tempo style has been his philosophy throughout his career. Add developing points guards as his specialty and it is a home run. Igor will help the Kings guards maximize their talents. Add that to the fact that every free agent Divac signed has a defense-first reputation, Igor and the Kings’ paths connect at the right time.
Kokoskov’s Coaching Mentors
Kokoskov played at Belgrade University until an auto accident wrecked his knee ending his playing career. He was given a chance to coach to keep him around the game he loves. Working with the Yugoslav men’s and junior national teams at the age of 24, he proved it was a natural fit for a second career.
Igor’s biggest mentor would be Alvin Gentry who he has worked for twice. Kokoskov was on Gentry’s staff when he coached the Los Angeles Clippers. He was then on Larry Brown‘s Detroit Pistons staff, winning the championship in 2004. He remained on the Pistons’ staff until 2008, when Gentry took over as head coach for the Suns and Igor followed. In 2013, Koskov became an assistant under Mike Brown on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bench, and later for Quinn Syder in Utah.
Igor will be an in-game advisor to Luke Walton. Luke does not have years of coaching under his belt, so when it comes to X’s and O’s on the clipboard, Kokoskov has extensive knowledge and experience that Luke will rely on.
Kokoskov benched Deandre Ayton for Richaun Holmes last season because Holmes plays with energy and defense. In my view, that says he will make hard decisions to get wins.
Final thoughts
The saying “There is no substitute for experience” rings true in this case. Kokoskov has it, as does the rest of the coaching staff around Walton. If the Sacramento Kings fail to live up to the goals set at the start of the season, it will rest on the front office and coaching staff, in my opinion. The short time it takes for the squad to build familiarity with each other on the floor is all it will take before the fun of watching Kings basketball begins.
The fans in Sacramento deserve an exciting and winning team. This coaching staff could be the reason for it.