CAN - Triano to serve as first ever Canadian NBA head coach

TORONTO (NBA) - Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame member Jay Triano will serve as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors tonight when they face the New Jersey Nets at home, making history as the first Canadian to ever coach a NBA regular season game.

An assistant coach with the Raptors since 2002, this former head coach of Canada’s senior men’s national team, will be filling in for Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, who left for Atlanta earlier this week following the death of his father-in-law. He is hesitant however to consider tonight’s game as anything out of the ordinary, eschewing his pioneer status.

“Ultimately, this is Sam’s team,” stated Triano.  “The philosophy we’re going into tonight’s game with is the same one he has.”

The “token Canadian” coach in the National Basketball Association, Triano has never forgotten his roots with Canadian basketball and makes the most of his current position to encourage future Canadians to get involved in coaching.

“Hopefully this can provide some inspiration for young coaches across our country,” said Triano. 

“I remember how Jack Donohue inspired me to want to be a coach, to give back. Coach always said to have fun and that's exactly what I plan on doing.”

Last month, Triano, along with other distinguished members of the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame, was honoured at Air Canada Centre as part of the third annual Canada Basketball Night, hosted in partnership with the Toronto Raptors.

Triano had an illustrious career with Canada Basketball both as a player from 1978-88, and as a coach from 1998-2004. 

As the National Team Head Coach, Triano posted a record of 52-42 (.553). 

Representing Canada as a player, Triano was a part of three Olympic teams (1980, 1984, 1988).

Inducted into Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1993, Triano is also member of the Canadian Olympic, Basketball Ontario, Basketball British Columbia, Simon Fraser Athletic and Niagara Falls Halls of Fame.

Jay Triano Bio:

Jay Triano Profile: A native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Triano has had a long career in basketball at both the amateur and professional level. At Simon Fraser University Triano set 11 school records, including the career scoring mark of 2,616 points. Triano was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the eighth round of the 1981 NBA Draft and played for the Canadian national team for 11 years (1978-88). He was team captain from 1981-88.

Triano began his basketball coaching career as an assistant at Simon Fraser and was the team’s head coach from 1988-1995. In 1993-94 he was as the head coach of the Canadian men’s junior national team, before serving as an assistant coach on the Canadian men’s national team. Triano was the head coach of the Canadian men’s national team from 1998-2004 and currently as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors; the NBA’s only Canadian born coach.

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