Tuomas Iisalo (born 29 July 1982) is a Finnish basketball coach and former player. He is currently serving as head coach of Paris Basketball of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroCup.
Standing at , Iisalo played as shooting guard during his playing career. He also played for the Finnish national basketball team.
Early life
Tuomas Iisalo's father worked as a foreign correspondent in East Berlin in the 1980s.
Both Tuomas and his younger brother Joonas later became professional basketball coaches. Their sister Meri Valkama became a journalist who won the 2021 prize for best debut novel in Finland with her book "Sinun, Margot" where she tells the story of a family in East Berlin.
Coaching career
After the end of his playing career he was appointed as head coach of Tapiolan Honka and was an assistant with Finland U15.
Crailsheim Merlins
In March 2016, he signed with Crailsheim Merlins. With the team, he won the promotion from the ProA to the Basketball Bundesliga.
In the 2017–18 season, Crailsheim was promoted to the Bundesliga once again as the ProA season's runners-up. Iisalo managed to establish the club in the Bundesliga and in 2020-21 guided the Merlins to their first ever Bundesliga playoff berth.
Telekom Baskets Bonn
In May 2021, he inked a two-year deal with fellow Bundesliga side Telekom Baskets Bonn. In 2022, he was named the Bundesliga Coach of the Year. Iisalo repeated as the Bundesliga Coach of the Year in the 2022-23 campaign. In May 2023, he won the Basketball Champions League with Bonn and was presented with the Champions League Coach of the Year honours. He helped the Bonn team to a trip to the 2023 Bundesliga finals, where they fell short to Ulm. Iisalo parted company with the Bonn outfit at the end of the 2022-23 season.
Paris Basketball
On June 29, 2023, Paris Basketball of the French LNB Pro A and the EuroCup, announced the appointment of Iisalo as a head coach on a three-year deal.
Coaching style
According to reports, the Iisalo style has been based on pace, many three-point shots and strong offensive rebounding.