At last, the moment Portland breathlessly waited for: the Portland Fire have officially announced the hire of their first ever head coach, Alex Sarama.
In the official press release, Fire general manager Vanja Černivec spoke glowingly: “Alex represents the next generation of coaching…He’s not just teaching the game, he’s transforming it. His approach to player development, grounded in evidence-based science, research and creativity, aligns with our vision to make Portland a global hub for innovation in women’s sports”.
Sarama – as we detailed earlier this week after the team’s botched initial announcement – was a coaching prodigy. When he was only sixteen years old, the Englishman formed & coached his own amateur club, the Guildford Goldhawks; more than ten England Junior National Team players have played for Sarama’s team.
In a coaching career that spanned the globe, basketball brought Sarama to NBA Europe headquarters in Madrid, before pit stops in Belgium, Italy, and France. Ahead of the 2023-24 season, Sarama found his way to Oregon as an assistant coach with the Portland Trailblazers G-League affiliate Rip City Remix. At the same time, he worked remotely in the front office of Vanja Černivec’s London Lions British Basketball League team.
Most recently, Sarama spent last season as a Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach, officially their Director of Player Development.
In the same press release, Sarama showed palpable excitement for his next role: “At the Fire, we’re not just creating a team – we’re redefining how the game is taught and played, through an approach centered around adaptability and supported by evidence-informed methodologies. We want to create a new standard for the game”.
Sarama, 30 – the youngest coach in the WNBA – takes over an expansion team with a difficult start. First reported by The Rose Garden Report’s Sean Highkin earlier this Spring, the Fire team name leaked before an official announcement was made. On Tuesday morning, we detailed the expansion franchise’s rushed (and then hastily deleted) rollout of Sarama. When the games are played, a quick start by Sarama’s team would go a long way for the franchise’s future.
Matt Bagley is a professional sportswriter and broadcaster with a passion for women’s sports. Outside of work, he cherishes quality time with his birth family, his chosen family, and one very pesky house panther.
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