UBC men’s basketball announced Thursday that new permanent head coach Phil Jalalpoor will be joining the Toronto Raptors’ staff as a guest coach for the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
The NBA Summer League began in 2002, as a series of off-season exhibition contests, where, with lowered stakes, teams can roll out different lineups, giving backups and younger players a chance to see the court. It's been a launch pad for many NBA players who initially flew under the radar, and serves as the first chance for newly drafted players to showcase their talents.
In addition to being a starting point for many players, the Summer League also provides opportunities for new and younger coaches.
In 2015, former WNBA player Becky Hammon served as the head coach for the San Antonio Spurs Summer League team, becoming the first female head coach in Summer League history. Her team eventually won the Summer League title, and Hammon now serves as the head coach of the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA, winning three championships in her time there.
All this is to say, Jalalpoor will be surrounded by both incredible players and coaches.
Jalalpoor, who is also a former player for the ‘Birds, will be joined by another UBC alum in Vegas: Jama Mahlalela. Mahlalela played for the Thunderbirds from 1999 to 2004 and is a current assistant coach for the Raptors, winning an NBA championship as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors in 2022.
Last fall, UBC hosted the Raptors in War Memorial Gym for practice before an exhibition game they played in Vancouver. This brief practice, however, proved to be a tremendous opportunity for the then-interim head coach Jalalpoor. Months after meeting with the Raptors coaching staff, Mahalela reached out to Jalalpoor and invited him to join the Raptors for the entirety of this year's Summer League.
Jalalpoor now joins a growing list of Canadian university coaches joining the pros. Last year, the University of Toronto’s head coach, Madhav Trivedi, was a guest coach for the Raptors, just as Jalalpoor is now. TMU’s former women’s basketball head coach Carly Clarke joined the Toronto Tempo as an assistant coach in their inaugural season and became the first-ever Canadian assistant coach in the WNBA in doing so. The pathway from U Sports to the NBA or WNBA is very narrow — but it seems to be widening.
Jalalpoor will be looking to learn as much as he can from this opportunity and hopes to reintegrate this experience into his coaching when he rejoins the Birds in the fall. While the Summer League is a chance to sharpen his coaching skills, it is also an opportunity for Jalalpoor to establish himself among the professional ranks. The 33-year-old can now set his sights on a future coaching career in the pros while also preparing himself for his first season as permanent head coach of the Thunderbirds.
The Thunderbirds will open their season on Oct. 29 at War Memorial, hosting the Trinity Western Spartans. Fans should be keen to see what developments Jalalpoor makes in his coaching scheme. But if last year was an indication of anything, the team should be in more than qualified hands.
