Former NBA coach David Fizdale was hired as the Nigeria men's basketball coach, with aspirations of leading the country to the 2028 Olympics in his hometown of Los Angeles, he told ESPN Andscape on Friday.
Fizdale has an NBA regular-season head coaching record of 71-134 with the Memphis Grizzlies (2016-17) and New York Knicks (2018-19). The 51-year-old most recently coached in the NBA as an assistant with the Phoenix Suns from 2023 to 2025.
Fizdale currently serves as an analyst for NBA TV and will be coaching a national men's basketball program 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 men's basketball team has made three Olympic appearances in 2012, 2016 and 2020, but has never medaled. Current Knicks head coach Mike Brown coached D'Tigers during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and enjoyed exhibition wins over the United States and Argentina.
Brown played a strong role in convincing Fizdale, who, similar to Brown, played collegiately at the University of San Diego, to take the Nigeria job. Nigerian Basketball Federation board member Ugo Udezue, a former Wyoming center and NBA agent, also played a substantial role in Fizdale taking the job, as did Nigeria Basketball 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.
The long and challenging process for Olympic qualification for D'Tigers begins with participation in the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers from July 2-5 in Luanda, Angola. Nigeria is scheduled to play against Angola, Guinea, Tunisia and Rwanda.
Fizdale said Nigeria will have training camp in Luanda before the competition.
If Nigeria qualifies for the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar or the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, a potential roster -- according to a source -- could include NBA players such as Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane, Knicks guard OG Anunoby, Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu and 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.
Stanford star freshman guard Ebuka Okorie, a 2026 NBA draft candidate, and former NBA players Jahlil Okafor, Chuma Okeke and Chima Moneke could also be candidates.
Fizdale has never been to Nigeria or Angola, but has visited African countries Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya. His ultimate dream is to coach Nigeria in his hometown of Los Angeles, where he starred at Fremont High School. The 1984 L.A. Olympics took place when Fizdale was 10 years old, but he didn't have the means to attend the events at the time.
"The reality of it is if I do get this team qualified for the Olympics, it will be in my hometown," Fizdale said. "It would be full circle for me. You're talking about a basketball checklist. That would definitely be on my bucket list for me to not only coach in the Olympics, but to coach in the Olympics in front of my family in the place I grew up. ... That was an easy decision.
"I didn't go to the Olympics in 1984, but I told people where to park on my buddy's yard. My homeboy lived by the [Los Angeles Memorial] Coliseum, so we used his front yard to park cars and make money because parking was crazy. We were the poor kids watching on TV, but that Olympics had a huge impact on all of us."
