Jordi Fernandez was destined to get a head-coaching job this summer.
Fernandez had just finished his first season as the associate head coach of the resurgent Sacramento Kings and emerged as one of the NBA's top up-and-coming head-coaching candidates.
He interviewed for vacancies with the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks this year and was a finalist for the Phoenix Suns' job. But the role Fernandez ended up getting was unexpected and intriguing.
Fernandez was hired to coach the Canadian national team in late June, just weeks before the team assembled to play in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.