Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, right, and his assistant David Fizdale talk after training at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013. Fizdale is the new coach of the Memphis Grizzlies, according to an announcement of the team. AP FILE
MIAMI, United States — David Fizdale, an assistant coach for the Miami Heat for the past eight seasons, was named on Sunday as the new coach of the NBA Memphis Grizzlies.
It will be the first head coaching post for Fizdale, who replaces the fired Dave Joerger, now coach of the Sacramento Kings.
“I’m extremely excited to be in Memphis and really looking forward to building a legacy with this talented group of players,” Fizdale said.
“I’ve been fortunate to have worked with some of the greatest coaches and players in the NBA and am ready for this challenge. I’m here to win it all and bring the wonderful people of Memphis their first Championship Parade.”
Fizdale, 41, has also been an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks. But he won two NBA titles with Miami during LeBron James’s four-year stay with the Heat.
“After a comprehensive search process and talking with a number of very bright basketball minds, we focused in on David and we are confident that he is the right person for the job,” Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said.
The Grizzlies have lost in the first round of the playoffs in three of the past five years but reached the Western Conference final in 2013.