Where Blazers' Micah Nori Ranks Among New Head Coaches

One in five NBA teams this offseason are making a change at the head coaching spot, including the Portland Trail Blazers.

Tiago Splitter was with the team on an interim basis and was one of the final candidates for the opening, but he opted to go with the Chicago Bulls opening. That opened the door for the Blazers to hire Minnesota Timberwolves assistant head coach Micah Nori.

Nori, along with Dusty May and Sean Sweeney, will make their NBA head coaching debuts this season, while Splitter, Jenkins and Mosley get one more shot to prove why they are one of the 30 who get to do this job in the world. Here's a look at the six head coaches ranked by experience and their opportunity to turn things around quickly for their team.

Coach	Previous Team	New Team
Taylor Jenkins	Memphis Grizzlies HC (2019-25)	Milwaukee Bucks
Dusty May	Univ. of Michigan HC (2024-26)	Dallas Mavericks
Jamahl Mosley	Orlando Magic HC (2021-25)	New Orleans Pelicans
Micah Nori	Minnesota Timberwolves Asst. (2021-26)	Portland Trail Blazers
Tiago Splitter	Portland Trail Blazers Interim HC (2025-26)	Chicago Bulls
Sean Sweeney	San Antonio Spurs Asst. (2025-26)	Orlando Magic

6. Tiago Splitter, Chicago Bulls

New Chicago Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter speaks during a press conference at Advocate Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Splitter proved exactly why he belonged in the head-coaching sphere last season, leading the Blazers on the fly to a 42-40 record, which admitted them to the playoffs for the first time since 2021. While Splitter is a good coach, he is inheriting a rebuilding project in the Windy City.

The Bulls aren't built to win right away, but they view Splitter as the coach that can steer them in the right direction during these transformative years.

5. Taylor Jenkins, Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee Bucks introduce new head coach Taylor Jenkins speaks at a press conference. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jenkins made three playoff appearances during his time in Memphis but struggled on his way out and was fired midway through his sixth season at the helm. Jenkins' experience in the playoffs and winning a first-round series in 2022 puts him ahead of Splitter on the list, but he is also going to a team that is aiming towards the future rather than this upcoming season.

The Bucks just traded Giannis Antetokounmpo and are facing some pretty bleak years in terms of the standings, but Jenkins is there to pull out some of the optimism within some of the new players they are building around.

4. Dusty May, Dallas Mavericks

New Dallas Mavericks’ head coach Dusty May answers questions from the media. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

May was college basketball's top coach last season after leading the Michigan Wolverines to a national championship. Most of May's players were moving on, which ultimately led to his departure when the Mavericks surprisingly fired Jason Kidd, who had led them to the 2024 NBA Finals.

May knows how to run a successful basketball program, but college is quite different from the NBA. On top of that, he is inheriting a Mavericks team that was in the lottery this past season. He gets to build a team around last year's number one overall pick, Cooper Flagg, which has to have been part of the reason why he was enamored with the Dallas vacancy to begin with.

3. Jamahl Mosley, New Orleans Pelicans

Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley walks off after the game against the Detroit Pistons. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In five seasons at the helm with the Orlando Magic, Mosley led them to the playoffs three times in the last three years.

Mosley's problem in Orlando was not being able to advance in the playoffs. The team had reached Game 7 of the first round in 2024 and 2026, but fell short of advancing to the second round. In this most recent playoffs, the Magic were up 3-1 against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons but failed to win any of their final three clinching opportunities.

Mosley now heads to New Orleans, which is in a very similar position to where Orlando was when he took over. He'll have a chance to instill his culture and system, which has proven to work already in Orlando. The hope is that the players can develop alongside him.

2. Micah Nori, Portland Trail Blazers

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Micah Nori answers questions from the press conference. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nori ends up at number two on this list, partially because he's taking over a team that was just in the playoffs. Very few postseason squads are looking for a new head coach for the next season, but Nori and the Blazers are an exception.

On top of that, Nori has been in the playoffs a lot during his nearly two decades in the league. He has postseason experience with the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves, which could come in handy if Portland accomplishes its goals.

“He is elite in what I call the small pieces of the game,” Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said of Nori.

“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.”

Nori's lack of head coaching experience could be a red flag, but he has been viewed as one of the league's top assistants for the last several years. Bringing him to Portland is a massive win for the Blazers.

1. Sean Sweeney, Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic head coach Sean Sweeney takes media questions during a press conference. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Sweeney takes the final spot ahead of Nori for the main reason that he was just in the NBA Finals with the San Antonio Spurs, who valued his defensive coaching abilities. Nori is more of an offensive guru compared to Sweeney, who helped the Spurs become one of the top defenses in the league.

He inherits a Magic team that has been in the playoffs for each of the last three years but has struggled to make the final push. Sweeney has been to the Finals in two of the last three years, so that could very well come into play to help Orlando take that next step.

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