Eight coaches stood in the locker room as Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic introduced each of the assistants as a “future NBA head coach.” A small gesture that will go a long way for sure! Things like these are what make Rajakovic unique. Amassing over three decades of experience in youth, college, and professional levels on two continents, has massively helped him in his latest endeavor.

Rajakovic has certainly earned his stripes having been an assistant at Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and Memphis. His hire wasn’t met with the kind of buzz a higher-profile name might have generated, but he certainly knows his work. The 45-year-old doesn’t have championships and medals on his resume, but his hard work and grit are second to none because of which success will soon follow. Let’s get to know more about the Raptors’ head coach by diving into his roots.

Where is Darko Rajakovic from? What is the Raptors head coach’s nationality?

Rajakovic journey in coaching is a unique story in itself. How many coaches can you name who started coaching at just sixteen years old? Not many. Although the Raptors’ head coach started hooping at seven, he soon realized his dreams of making it as a professional were close to none, so he switched to coaching as a way of staying connected to the game he loved so much.

So, at the tender age of sixteen, he began his career by coaching eight-year-olds for BC Borac Cacak, a team in his hometown of Cacak in Serbia. The Serbian native then moved to Red Star Belgrade, leading the youth setup for the team. It was then he caught the eye of then-Spurs assistant general manager Sam Presti, who brought Rajakovic to keep track of prospects from around the Balkans where he worked from 2004 to 2011.

He then left for Madrid for his first actual job as a head coach, where he coached Espacio Torrelodones of the Spanish EBA League. Furthermore, he then returned to the United States to coach the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Developmental League. he then served as an assistant at several teams before eventually landing his first head coach role in the NBA at Toronto.

Additionally, this made him just the second-ever European-born head coach in NBA history. The first was Igor Kokoskov, who coached the Phoenix Suns during the 2018-19 season.

Not to mention, at 45 now, he is also among the youngest NBA coaches.

What religion does Darko Rajakovic follow?

If you look at Darko Rajakovic’s life at just 45 years of age, the Raptors head coach has seen a lot from war to economic hardships, but he never gave up and kept going. A major reason for this, he believes, is his Serbian identity.

“If you look at our history, is geographically and geopolitically caught between the West and East. It was under the Ottoman Empire for five centuries. We were slaves, but we managed to keep our identity and to preserve our religion, Orthodox Christianity, and we survived all of that because there was no other option than to stick together,” says Rajakovic.

He credits his home nation and his religion of Orthodox Christianity as key factors of who he is today. Although there’s no mention of Rajakovic being religious, this could give us a good idea about the Raptors coach’s beliefs.

Darko Rajakovic’s journey from a 16-year-old coaching kids in Serbia to becoming the Toronto Raptors’ head coach is nothing short of inspiring. His unique path, shaped by resilience, hard work, and a deep connection to his roots, has prepared him for this moment. While the accolades may not yet fill his resume, his story—and his approach to the game—suggest that success is only a matter of time.