The Benas Podcast
EP#96 | Igor Kokoškov: Mentorship, NBA Journey, Slovenia’s EuroBasket Gold & Project B
NEW EPISODE! (EP#96) If you want to support this podcast (Ačiū!!): Support: https://www.patreon.com/c/bmatke Homepage: www.bmatke.com Sponsor: www.proballers.com "Igor": Igor Kokoškov’s remarkable coaching journey began in Serbia before taking him to the NCAA and then the NBA, where he spent more than two decades as an assistant, won an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons and became the first European-born head coach in league history. He later brought his expertise back to the EuroLeague, while his greatest FIBA achievement came in 2017, when he guided Slovenia to an unbeaten EuroBasket title. In this episode, Igor shares how meeting Quin Snyder at Duke helped shape his path, the mentors who influenced him during his Serbian basketball beginnings, and how he learned to build trust with NBA players as a foreign assistant coach. We also explore managing energy throughout a long season, the evolution of in-game play-calling, and his role as Head of Player Development with Project B—along with leadership, communication, adaptability and many more lessons from his extraordinary career. Topics: 00:00 Intro 00:35 Quin Snyder impact 6:00 Beginning of coaching 10:20 Mentorship & Methodology 18:45 Serbian Basketball Culture 23:00 Foreign Coach in the NBA 30:45 Decision-making process 35:00 Connection with players 40:20 Locker-room impact 44:30 Energy Management & Information diet 57:45 ProBallers.com 1:06:25 Eurobasket 2015 & Playcalls 1:17:00 Offensive Systems & Winning 1:23:10 Project B 1:25:34 ATOs Subscribe to my YouTube channel The Benas Podcast , if you want to stay updated! You'll find this podcast on all audio platforms as well. Press „Like“ ir and share this podcast to your network! #IgorKokoskov #NBAcoach #HeadCoach #FIBA #Euroleague #ProjectB #Basketball Finding Igor: IG: https://www.instagram.com/igor.kokoskov/ Finding “The Benas Podcast”: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-b-podcast/id1558492852?uo=4 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Bw5UJNSQLKo0wUybEIza3 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-benas-podcast …or visit www.bmatke.com to find more info. Comment, Like & Share here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bmatke/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bmatke/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bmatke3 www.bmatke.com
