Mike Brown has been named as head coach of the Nigeria men's national basketball, as they head for the Tokyo Olympic games which will take place between July 24 and August, 2020.
The 49 year old associate head head of the Golden State Warriors, Brown will lead the D'Tigers of Nigeria as they battle for glory in the global basketball championship for the third straight time.
The appointment of Warriors Mike Brown as the coach of the Nigerian men's basketball team, according to ESPN’s Marc Spears, is because, the "Nigeria BB (basketball) president Musa Kida was seeking a high-profile coach with an NBA background."
Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown has agreed to terms to be the next head coach of the Nigerian men’s basketball team during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, @espn @TheUndefeated has learned. Nigeria BB president Musa Kida was seeking a high-profile coach with an NBA background.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) February 4, 2020
Brwon has indicated his happiness for the new job, saying, "I'm honored and humbled that Musa Kida and the Nigerian Basketball Federation have given me this opportunity."
Brown is a former Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers head coach who has coached the likes of the late Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Kevin Durant, Steve Kerr, Tony Parker and Kyrie Irving.
Golden State Warriors’ Mike Brown accepts Nigeria head coach job https://t.co/6VCeEX2EW2
— Nigeria Newsdesk (@NigeriaNewsdesk) February 5, 2020
Nigeria qualified for the 2020 Olympics after beating China in the classification round, and became the best-placed African team in the 2019 World Cup.
D'Tigers, who are 16th in the FIBA world rankings became the first African nation to ever qualify for the Summer Olympics through the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in 2012.
