Suns hire Igor Kokoskov as NBA's 1st European-born head coach

The NBA is set to have its very first European-born head coach.

The Phoenix Suns announced Wednesday they've hired Utah Jazz assistant Igor Kokoskov as their new head coach, making the Serbian the first bench boss in NBA history to be born and raised outside of North America.

Kokoskov, who served as an assistant on Phoenix's staff from 2008-2013, re-joins the club on a three-year deal, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

"We are thrilled to bring Valley resident Igor Kokoskov back to Arizona as head coach of the Phoenix Suns," GM Ryan McDonough said in a statement. "Igor has been a pioneer throughout his basketball career and he brings a wealth of high level coaching experience to our club."

Kokoskov, 46, has been serving as an assistant coach in the NBA for the past 18 years, the last three of which came with the Jazz as their lead assistant. He will start as the Suns' coach at the conclusion of Utah's playoff run, with the No. 4 seed currently battling the Houston Rockets in the West semifinals.

In his most recent stint as a head coach, the Belgrade native guided the Slovenian national team to its first-ever EuroBasket championship in 2017. The team was led by Miami Heat All-Star Goran Dragic and teenage phenom Luka Doncic, who's expected to be among the top picks in June's draft. After finishing at the bottom of the standings this season, Phoenix will have the most ping pong balls in the draft lottery.

The Suns fired head coach Earl Watson just three games into the 2017-18 campaign, and assistant Jay Triano served as the interim coach for the remainder of the season for the young club, which finished with a 21-61 record. It was reported Sunday that the Suns were no longer considering Triano for the permanent gig, against Devin Booker's wishes.