Rajakovic, another NBA coach who learns from Pedro Martínez: “We are in contact”

Pedro Martínez He once again receives compliments from the NBA. The coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kenny AtkinsonLast season, he pointed out the current Real Madrid coach as a reference for him and his other colleagues in the American league, as he said that “all NBA coaches” learn from him.

One of those other technicians is the coach of the Toronto Raptors, Darko Rajakovic. The Serbian said that he takes advantage of the summer to expand his knowledge and in the latter he has been able to do so through the Catalan coach, who spent a few days with the Raptors in Las Vegas before the start of the Summer League.

“Coach is a job that is a continuous processsport is a continuous process. You’re always looking for ways to improve, the game is changing, the players are changing, everything is changing. Every season is a new story and every summer I try to make time, so I can analyze our team but also what trends there are in the world. I like to study and watch coaches in Europe and what they do and what we can take and learn from them. We had one of the best European coaches, Pedro Martínez, who came and visited us,” Rajakovic explained to MD this week.

“He spent a couple of days with us in Las Vegas and it was a great experience. He coached Valencia last season and they were the best attack in the Euroleague. There are always opportunities for me to connect with colleagues and learn,” added the Raptors coach.

Pedro Martínez was also with the Brooklyn Nets Jordi Fernandez in the summer of 2025. Rajakovic acknowledged that there are offensive concepts that he has taken from the script of the renowned Spanish coach.

“Of course. We spent many hours talking and we still maintain communication. It was an exchange of ideas, some of the things we are using. When we played with our team in the Summer League, he took (those ideas) with him to Real Madrid,” added the Toronto coach, without specifying any concept because coaches are normally wary of sharing specific ideas so as not to give clues.

The truth is that certain similarities can be found in the styles of Pedro Martínez and Darko Rajakovic on both sides of the court.

The Catalan coach is committed to a dynamic attack with a lot of movement for which the Raptors are also distinguished, in his case governed by the formula of the Serbian coach of the so-called “attack 0.5”, whose essential principle is that the player makes a decision every time he receives the ball within a period of 0.5 seconds. On the defensive side, both coaches believe in high pressure, which is becoming more and more prevalent in the NBA.

Rajakovic has close ties with Spain, having trained for three years Torrelodones Space Madrid semi-professional between 2009 and 2012, promoting it to Liga EBA, current Tercera FEB. That experience turned out to be the bridge to the NBA, where he served as coach of the Tulsa 66ers – the Thunder’s G-League team. and then worked as an assistant coach for the Thunder, Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies until he was named head coach of the Raptors in 2023.

One of Rajakovic’s assistants in Toronto is also Serbian Ivo Simovicwho also has several ties to Spanish basketball. Simovic spent 10 years at Torrelodones, serving as first coach and then sports director. Simovic was an assistant at some NCAA universities, taking a decisive role in recruiting Santi Aldama for Loyola now Aday Mara for UCLA.

Both Rajakovic and Simovic speak very fluent Spanish and in recent years have organized summer training sessions for the Raptors in cities such as Madrid and Malaga. In 2024 they also invited the then Real Madrid coach Chus Mateo to spend a few days with the Raptors.

Joventut also had a presence in the Canadian franchise this summer. Pau Ribasdirector of the Penya quarry, was part of Toronto’s coaching staff in the Summer League. The green-black club was also represented in Las Vegas by the first team assistant Albert Canellas as part of the Nets staff.

Darko Rajakovic is the European born and raised coach who more success has had in the NBA so far. Last year, the Serbian became the first coach from the Old Continent to qualify a team for the playoffs as head coach. The Raptors fell in the first round after pushing the Cleveland Cavaliers (4-3) to the limit and want to take a giant step this year after the return of Kawhi Leonardwhich will form one of the best duos two-way of the NBA with Scottie Barnes.

The NBA benches will have one more season with three European coaches with the Spaniard Jordi Fernandez (Brooklyn Nets), the Finnish Tuomas Iisalo (Memphis Grizzlies) and Rajakovic himself in what is an all-time high. There is also the Brazilian Tiago Splitter (Chicago Bulls), South American but with a great European influence from coaches like Dusko Ivanovic and Neven Spahija from their time at Baskonia.

The NBA increasingly opens its borders to coaches from the Old Continent and more and more its mind to learn from Euroleague coaches. AND Pedro Martínez It is a benchmark for the best league in the world.