06/23/26 12:14:00
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06/23 12:13 CDT Blazers hire Wolves assistant Micah Nori as head coach, a year
after Chauncey Billups' sudden exit
Blazers hire Wolves assistant Micah Nori as head coach, a year after Chauncey
Billups' sudden exit
By ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer
The Portland Trail Blazers picked Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori
as their next head coach on Tuesday, after making the playoffs for the first
time in five years under the direction of interim coach Tiago Splitter.
Nori, who spent the past five seasons with the Timberwolves, has interviewed
for multiple head coach vacancies including the Chicago Bulls earlier this
month, the New York Knicks last year, and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024.
Nori, 52, was the lead assistant under Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch
while the club made the playoffs each season, won five series, and reached the
Western Conference finals in 2023 and 2024. Nori, who began his NBA career in
1998 as a scout with the Toronto Raptors, has also been an assistant for the
Raptors, the Sacramento Kings, the Denver Nuggets, and the Detroit Pistons. His
son, Dante, is a minor league baseball player in the Philadelphia Phillies
organization.
Splitter, who was hired last week as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, was
promoted from assistant to interim coach when then-head coach Chauncey Billups
was arrested in October in a federal takedown of a sprawling gambling
operation. Billups has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money
laundering.
The Blazers went 42-40 with a five-game loss to NBA finalist San Antonio in the
first round of the playoffs, the first postseason appearance and first time
they finished with a winning record in five years.
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AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
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