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The Indiana Pacers named Nate Bjorkgren as
their new head coach on Tuesday.
Bjorkgren spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with
the Toronto Raptors.
Bjorkgren, 45, coached in the G League before joining the
Phoenix Suns in 2015-16, where he served as an assistant coach
and player development coordinator.
"We are very pleased and excited to have Nate as our new coach,"
said Kevin Pritchard, the Pacers president of basketball
operations.
"This was an extensive and thorough search, and when we reached
the conclusion, we felt strongly Nate is the right coach for us
at the right time. He comes from a winning background, has
experienced championship success, is innovative and his
communication skills along with his positivity are tremendous.
We all look forward to a long, successful partnership in helping
the Pacers move forward."
Bjorkgren said in a statement that he is looking forward to his
new opportunity with the Pacers.
"I am honored to take on the role as head coach of the Indiana
Pacers," Bjorkgren said. "This is something I have prepared for
during my career. I want to thank Kevin, Chad (Buchanan, general
manager), Kelly (Krauskopf, assistant general manager), Larry
Bird, Donnie Walsh and Herb and Steve Simon for this
opportunity. I also want to thank Nick Nurse for giving me my
first professional coaching job 14 years ago.
"I'm looking forward to working with this great team to achieve
our goal as NBA champions."
Bjorkgren will take over the position formally held by Nate
McMillan, who was fired in August after four seasons with
Indiana.
The Pacers parted ways with McMillan after the team was swept
out of the first round of the playoffs by the Miami Heat.
McMillan amassed a 183-136 record but was just 3-16 in the
playoffs with the Pacers after leading them to the playoffs all
four seasons.
--Field Level Media
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