Former NBA coach, David Fizdale, has been named the new head coach of Nigeria’s men’s national basketball team, D’Tigers, with the ambition of guiding them to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, his hometown.
He disclosed this in an interview with ESPN Andscape on Friday, while the appointment was officially announced on Saturday via D’Tigers’ X account.
Fizdale, 51, brings NBA head coaching experience from stints with the Memphis Grizzlies (2016–17) and New York Knicks (2018–19), where he posted a 71–134 regular-season record. Most recently, he served as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns between 2023 and 2025.
He currently works as an NBA TV analyst and will now be taking charge of a national team for the first time.
“It will be fun and exciting calling timeouts and drawing plays up again as a head coach,” Fizdale told ESPN Andscape in a phone interview. “It will be good to get back in that mindset of preparation and motivation. That is going to be fun and exciting as well. But the biggest fact is the nostalgia and what is driving me to get to L.A. What is driving me the most is helping Nigeria not only qualify and medal, but to do that in front of my family. That would be the most special thing.”
Nigeria’s D’Tigers have appeared at the Olympics three times—2012, 2016, and 2020—but are yet to win a medal.
The team was previously led at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by current New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown, under whom they recorded notable exhibition victories over the United States and Argentina.
Brown reportedly played a key role in encouraging Fizdale to accept the role, drawing on their shared collegiate background at the University of San Diego.
Nigerian Basketball Federation board member Ugo Udezue, a former Wyoming player and NBA agent, also helped facilitate the appointment, alongside federation general manager Musa Adamu.
“I’m super excited. I have Mike Brown to thank who coached the team before and the year they beat the U.S. in the qualifiers and played in Japan. Mike brought it up to me. After some good talks and going back-and-forth, we agreed that I was going to try to take the team to qualify,” Fizdale said.
Nigeria’s qualification journey for the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar and ultimately the 2028 Olympics will begin with the African qualifiers scheduled for July 2–5 in Luanda, Angola.
The team is drawn alongside Angola, Guinea, Tunisia, and Rwanda, with a preparatory training camp also set to hold in Luanda.
A potential roster, according to a source, could feature several NBA players including Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane, New York Knicks guard OG Anunoby, Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu, Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent, Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams, Denver Nuggets center Zeke Nnaji, Sacramento Kings forward Precious Achiuwa, Houston Rockets forward Josh Okogie, Philadelphia 76ers center Adem Bona, and Chicago Bulls forward Isaac Okoro.
Others in consideration include Stanford freshman guard Ebuka Okorie, a 2026 NBA Draft prospect, as well as former NBA players Jahlil Okafor, Chuma Okeke, and Chima Moneke.
Fizdale, who has never been to Nigeria or Angola, has previously visited several African countries including Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Kenya.
He has also expressed a personal dream of leading Nigeria at the Los Angeles Olympics, where he once attended Fremont High School.
The 1984 Olympics took place when he was 10 years old, though he was unable to attend due to financial limitations at the time.
