Who is Toronto Raptors' new head coach, Darko Rajakovic? Taking a look at his career

Darko Rajakovic
Darko Rajakovic will coach the Toronto Raptors next season

Darko Rajakovic will be the new head coach of the Toronto Raptors. The Canadian basketball team parted ways with Nick Nurse a few weeks ago and decided to replace him with a rookie head coach.

Rajakovic is from Serbia and he's spent the majority of his career there. His first NBA job came in 2014 with the OKC Thunder, and he's also worked for the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies.

While Darko Rajakovic has a lot of experience in basketball, this will be his first head coaching job in the NBA. He was, however, a head coach in the G League for two seasons.


Darko Rajakovic was an assistant coach in the NBA All-Star Game

Darko Rajakovic's coaching career began when he was only 16 years old. He was the coach of Borac Cacak, a basketball team that played in his hometown. After three years with the team, he was given control of Crvena Zvezda's youth team.

In Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia, Rajakovic won two youth championships with his team. He eventually moved to the United States of America and spent time with Lute Olson at the University of Arizona.

Rajakovic has also spent a lot of time with Mike Krzyzewski, the legendary head coach, at Duke University.

In his first NBA job, Rajakovic worked under Scott Brooks in Oklahoma (Image via Getty Images)
In his first NBA job, Rajakovic worked under Scott Brooks in Oklahoma (Image via Getty Images)

Rajakovic's experience eventually landed with a job with the Espacio Torrelodones in Spain. After three years of coaching, he became the head coach of the Tulsa 66ers, the OKC Thunder's Development League affiliate.

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His great coaching promoted him to the prestigious basketball league as he got his first job as an assistant coach for the Thunder. Darko Rajakovic worked under Scott Brooks and was also an assistant coach in the 2014 NBA All-Star Game.

Rajakovic will replace Nick Nurse in Toronto (Image via Getty Images)
Rajakovic will replace Nick Nurse in Toronto (Image via Getty Images)

After five years in Oklahoma, Darko Rajakovic spent a season with the Phoenix Suns and three seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies. He also worked for the San Antonio Spurs as a scouting consultant in the Summer League.

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Rajakovic will replace Nick Nurse, who was the head coach for the Toronto Raptors for five years. Nurse had a 227-163 (.582) record with the Raptors in the regular season and a 25-16 (.610) record in the playoffs.

In his rookie season as a head coach, Nurse won the championship with the team.

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