Any new hire comes with a certain amount of uncertainty. Somebody who’s never done the job even more so. The NBA is no different.
So when Brooklyn handed Jordi Fernandez his first-ever NBA head coaching gig, there were always going to be questions. About how he’d perform, and perhaps even more important, about whether he could get his players to buy in.
Nearly two dozen games in — well past the quarter pole of the season — the answers have been positive. The Nets — tabbed by all the betting sites to have one of the worst records in the NBA — have exceeded all reasonable expectations. And Fernandez has drawn praise, both from the league and those around it.
Earlier in the week, Fernandez was named a nominee for Eastern Conference Coach of the Month. The award ironically went to Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson, fired by the Nets in 2020. Much of their hard-earned culture went out the door when Atkinson did, but early returns are Fernandez appears to be bringing it back.
