Sportsnet Canada: Jordi Fernandez stepping down as head coach of Canadian national team

Michael Granger of Sportsnet Canada reports that after taking the Canadian national team to new heights he will step down and focus completely on the Nets.

If there’s anyone in North America happier with Jordi Fernandez’s coaching than Brooklyn Nets fans, it’s Canadian basketball fans. Since being named head coach of Team Canada two years ago, Fernandez has taken the Canadians from No. 15 in the FIBA World rankings to No. 5 today, and medaled for the first time in the FIBA World Cup.

Now, though, Sportsnet Canada reports he has decided to step down as head coach and focus completely on the Nets. Michael Granger of the Canadian sports site was first with the news.

Granger reports:

Jordi Fernandez is stepping away as head coach of the Canadian senior men’s national basketball team, Sportsnet has learned from multiple sources.

The longtime NBA assistant and current head coach of the Brooklyn Nets took over from Nick Nurse in the summer of 2023 when Nurse unexpectedly left the position due to a conflict with his then-new role as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Fernandez led Canada to the best international result the men’s program has had in the modern era, a run to the bronze medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, while simultaneously qualifying for the 2024 Olympics. It was men’s first appearance at the Olympic tournament since 2000 and just the second since 1988.

Fernández declined to comment on the report prior to the Washington game tonight out of respect for Team Canada.

“In fairness to Canada basketball, I want them to make the announcement,” he said. “And once they do, I’ll be able to answer all your questions.”

Fernandez and Rowan Barrett, the GM of Team Canada, have put together a strong roster of Canadian NBA players who had filled 11 of the 12 national team’s roster spots at the Olympics, led by Shai Gilegeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, a Toronto native. Among the other NBA players on the roster are: Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets, Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Minnesota Timberwolves), R.J. Barrett (Toronto Raptors), Dillon Brooks (Houston Rockets), Luguentz Dort (Thunder), Trey Lyles (Sacramento Kings), Andrew Nembhard (Indiana Pacers), Kelly Olynyk (Toronto Raptors) and Dwight Powell (Dallas Mavericks).

“[Jordi] put a team together last year, we didn’t know either one of us, we never played with each other that much and he put it together and had the No. 1 offensive and made us play together,” said Brooks after Fernandez was named Nets head coach. “He knows how to talk, he knows how to lead.”

Fernandez had publicly and privately expressed reservations about continuing in his dual role going forward noting the toll on his family of being committed to international basketball in the summer after completing an 82-game NBA season. Before his gig with Team Canada, Fernandez had been an assistant coach for both the Spanish national team under Euroleague veteran Sergio Scariolo and the Nigerian national team under then Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown.

Despite that, Granger reports that Fernandez had indicated as recently as last month that he intended to stay on as head coach with an eye toward the 2027 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.

Sean Marks, himself a veteran of international play with New Zealand, had supported Fernandez in his desire to coach in FIBA competition noting specifically that coaching in the Paris Olympics last year offered the 41-year-old an opportunity to coach at the highest level in international play.

“When you get to go to the Olympics, that’s very rare,” said Marks at Fernandez’s press conference in April. “So the more opportunities Jordi has behind the clipboard, the better,” So I think that’s great for us,”

Canada defeated Spain, Greece and Australia before losing to France and Victor Wembanyama in the quarterfinals.

Fernandez’s time prepping the Canadian national team in Toronto last summer interfered with the NBA Summer League and Steve Hetzel, the Nets lead assistant, filled in for him.

Overall, Granger wrote that as head coach of the national team, Fernandez led Canada to a 9-3 record at the FIBA World Cup in 2023 and the Olympics in 2024i including signature wins over seven of the top 13 teams in the current FIBA world rankings, including the world’s No. 1 Team, the United States, in the bronze medal game at the World Cup.

Team Canada did not comment on the report. Fernandez will be available to Brooklyn media later this afternoon.

• Jordi Fernandez stepping away from Canada coaching job – Michael Grange – Sportsnet Canada