5 Quotes and Anecdotes That Should Have Blazers Fans Excited About Micah Nori

The contract might be awkward, but Micah Nori's reputation makes him look like a perfect fit for any chaos with the Portland Trail Blazers.

Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori reacts in the second half against the Denver Nuggets during game one of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers hired Micah Nori as their new coach, and although the contract itself is almost historically unprecedented, it isn’t necessarily difficult to get excited about the move in the short term.

Nori’s mental capacity figures to be tested during a bizarre “one-plus-one-plus-one” deal that won’t offer much for long-term security and comfort, and, as noted by Mike Richman of Locked On Blazers, it’s the type of contract that really only has two examples in the last three-and-a-half decades …

… But if anecdotes from around the league prove anything, it’s that Nori’s adapt-on-the-fly abilities make him the ideal candidate for such a scenario. Nori’s background has been a fascinating study over the past few days, and thus, here are a few quotes that left this writer intrigued about his potential impact.

Chris Finch’s Praise of His “Right Hand Man”

Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori against the Phoenix Suns during an NBA Cup game at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

After the metaphorical “boxes” were checked off in terms of Nori’s high character and personality, the average Blazers supporter likely had one immediate thought thereafter: what about his ability when it comes to X’s and O’s?

To that question, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch had all of the Pacific Northwest covered during a quote via The Athletic’s Jason Quick during a Jun. 23 news report discussing Nori’s hiring:

“He is elite in what I call the small pieces of the game,” Finch said. “Small not that they are unimportant, but small in that they are often overlooked. He’s elite with lineup combinations. Elite with rotations. Elite with special situations, whether it’s ATOs (after timeouts), end of game or just understanding how to maximize possessions. He’s just been huge for us here in that regard.”

It speaks to Nori’s ability to adjust under pressure; on multiple occasions with the Timberwolves, he was called upon to be the temporary head coach, and the results spoke for themselves. 

And even prior to, stops outside of Minnesota —  think Denver or Toronto, among others — Nori took full advantage of opportunities to put on-court knowledge on showcase. 

It also speaks volumes that NBA GMs across the league deemed him to be the No. 1 assistant coach leaguewide. Thus, it doesn’t appear that it’ll take too long for him to establish himself as a fan favorite along Portland’s sideline.

Nori's Playoff Poise

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker calls a timeout against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker n the second quarter during game two of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

To put it simply: when postseason time rolls around, a true leader at the head coaching position isn’t going to allow his team to be rattled by a regular-season series that went in the opponent’s favor. 

In 2024, Nori and the Minnesota Timberwolves found themselves under that type of scenario, when —  despite a 56-win season and a No. 3 seed out West — they found themselves in an opening-round head-to-head against a Phoenix Suns team that won all three meetings by double-digits. 

Under that less-than-ideal backdrop, Nori was able to drop the type of one-liner you might hear on a Damian Lillard song:

“It’s a different story. In the regular season, they caught us at the beach with no sunblock. We weren’t prepared," Nori said in 2024.

Suffice to say, after a four-game sweep of the Suns in Round 1, the Timberwolves were prepared when the stakes were highest.

Phoenix’s greatly-celebrated three-player trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal were statistically good, but not great. And the recipe was something that both: (a) Minnesota specialized at, and (b) Portland could easily replicate: physicality on the perimeter, a stifling rim protector settled inside, and timely offensive brilliance in crunchtime.

A few weeks later, with Minnesota on the way to its first Western Conference Finals since 2004, it quickly became clear that Nori and his crew found their “sunblock” … ironically, in more ways than one.

Anthony Edwards' 51-Point Birthday Tribute

There are a thousand different things that go into being a “great coach,” and the ability to galvanize and inspire likely settles somewhere towards the top.

If the national media needed a way to test the criteria for Nori, the answer arrived on Apr. 9, 2024, as Edwards —  in a tribute to Nori’s 50th birthday —  offered a career-best 51-point masterpiece against the Washington Wizards.

Historically, the relationship between Edwards and Nori has been cast in a positive light, headlined by the memorable quote of Edwards calling him a “genius.” It was no different, as Edwards, all smiles, offered another glowing endorsement of his assistant coach in front of Target Center’s fired-up home crowd.

“I actually didn’t know, but I will say that it was Micah (Nori’s) birthday today, and he turned 50, and I wanted to get 50 because of him, so shoutout to Micah," Edwards said.

In a perfect world, couldn’t you see this identical situation playing out in Moda Center after a big-time performance from Damian Lillard or Deni Avdija?

The "Ultimate Relationship Builder"

Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori directs forward Jaden McDaniels after the head coach was ejected as they play the Oklahoma City Thunder in the third quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

The spring of 2024, it seems, planted many of the seeds that we see today, in terms of Nori’s rise in reputation as a must-know basketball mind. In this anecdote, though, it’s what Nori is doing on his off day away from Minnesota that truly stands out:

“The morning after a late-night game, Micah Nori is spending his day off coaching in a small high school gym in Minneapolis. It’s his first time working with Roosevelt’s "Unified Basketball Team," but within five minutes, he knows every player by name," FOX 9 reporter Amy Hockert said.

One could call it a small thing, but pairing what we already know about his player development skills, the idea of Nori knowing every player by name within five minutes speaks to the type of personality the Blazers will have heading the ship over, at least, the next season. [The contract is so unorthodox, that it’s difficult to truly say]. 

It’s classic offseason optimism, but it’s a welcome sign when thinking about how much chemistry Portland could have next season.

A Look Into Nori's In-Game Mindset

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards with assistant coach Micah Nori against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

To sort of double-dip on a quote from Finch, in 2021, when Nori was first hired, Minnesota’s head coach went through a full bullet point list on what he liked about his newcomer: lineup combinations, end-of-game scenarios, analytics, time management, etc. 

The final part of that quote stood out: “Micah is going to be in charge of that.” 

It’s a glowing endorsement, especially since a lot of it can be tracked to redeemable rewards. For instance, the Timberwolves have ranked as a top-10 team in clutch win percentage in each of the last four seasons. 

That article from Jace Frederick of Pioneer Press also hits on Nori’s mentality about coaching “from the end of the game backwards.” It’s something that feels very Portland-like: in a perfect world, against elite competition, you keep it close, and position your clutch superstars — à la Damian Lillard —  to “bring you home” for victory in the end.

Before the 2026 Playoffs, Nori made an appearance on Throwbacks with Matt Leinart & Jerry Ferrara, and his mindset on defending superstars felt especially noteworthy too, especially given that the players he mentioned —  Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — could all be players Portland has to deal with, if they want to make any sort of title run in 2026-27.

Defenses across the league have to contend with the idea of whether they want to double team and trap players such as Gilgeous-Alexander, or stick with a plan more focused on allowing him to “get his,” and keep the rest of the team under wraps.

The idea around the 52-minute mark about knowing on-the-fly analytics, and knowing players tendencies about wanting to get back to their dominant hands or strengths —  even with defenses attempting to take it away — felt standout, especially given that Nori’s staff has historically had the recipe for slowing down a player like Jokić in previous years. 

Needless to say, it’ll be a game-to-game “chess match” for Portland in 2026-27, and if quotes and anecdotes mean anything, Nori will have opportunities to offer checkmates quite often.