Timberwolves top assistant Micah Nori will be head coach of Trail Blazers

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jun 23, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — For almost as long as Chris Finch has been head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Micah Nori has been his right-hand man on the bench.

But that is changing after five seasons.

Nori will become the next head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, ESPN reported.

The 52-year-old Nori will get his first head coaching opportunity after a lengthy career as a scout and assistant. Before joining the Wolves, Nori was an assistant in Toronto, Sacramento, Detroit and Denver, where he and Finch first crossed paths with the Nuggets under head coach Michael Malone and current Wolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly.

Finch took the Wolves job midseason in February 2021, and when he got the chance to remake his coaching staff that offseason, Nori was among those Finch brought to the team. For five years, Nori helped Finch handle rotations, and players have often said Nori has a vast knowledge of plays other teams will run in certain situations.

In the 2024 playoffs, Mike Conley collided with Finch in Game 4 of the team’s series against Phoenix, and Finch suffered a ruptured patellar tendon, which required surgery. Nori became the standing coach on the sidelines for the remainder of the postseason with Finch sitting behind the bench to protect his leg.

“We’re very much on the same wavelength. We share a brain,” Finch said of Nori. “If you know Micah, it’s not the type of brain you want to share with most people. But we are very much in sync.”

Nori has been a candidate for multiple job openings over the last three seasons. Before last season, 25% of general managers voted him as the best assistant coach in the NBA in the annual GM survey. That led the league.

Like his father, Nori was a standout baseball player at Indiana before turning to scouting and coaching. His son, Dante, was the 27th overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft and is a highly rated prospect in the Phillies organization. While playing in the World Baseball Classic with Italy, Dante Nori hit .400 with two home runs.

Finch will now have to find another top assistant, with some candidates likely already on his bench. Pablo Prigioni helps Finch run the offense, and longtime assistant Elston Turner is the team’s de facto defensive coordinator.

In Portland, Nori inherits a roster that went 42-40 and made it to the playoffs before falling to the San Antonio Spurs in the first round. The Trail Blazers have All-Star Deni Avdija with a supporting cast that includes Jerami Grant, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson and promising center Donovan Clingan. Franchise star Damian Lillard rejoined the team following two seasons with the Bucks as he recovered from a torn Achilles suffered in April 2025.

New Portland owner Tom Dundon made waves around the league as he reportedly does not want to pay much for a head coach in the name of efficiency, but Nori wasn’t deterred by that. After coming close for multiple years, he will have his first chance to be an NBA head coach.

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