NBA: Darko Rajaković Becomes First European Coach in Playoffs
"So many players, so many coaches from the former Yugoslavia, and especially from Serbia, made this journey possible for me. Without all these successes in the national team, in clubs, and without the individual successes of players and then coaches, I would never have reached where I am," commented Darko Rajaković.
Darko Rajaković, 47 years old, was born in Čačak, in the former Yugoslavia, and it was in his hometown that he began his coaching career at the age of 16. He then took charge of the youth teams at Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, while also building connections with American university basketball and its coaches. After a stint in the Spanish 5th division, he infiltrated the G-League in 2012 and found himself as an assistant coach at OKC in 2014. The Serbian then moved on to the Suns and the Grizzlies before being hired as the 10th head coach of the Raptors in June 2023.
Darko Rajaković was the head coach of Team World during the 2026 NBA All-Star Game and also served as an assistant coach for the Serbian national team during the 2019 World Cup.
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