Nets' Jordi Fernandez, NBA's first Spanish-born coach, not resting on his laurels

ATLANTA — Jordi Fernandez didn’t want to put too many expectations on his first game as a head coach. But he recognized the significance of his journey.

When the Nets tip off at the Hawks Wednesday to start the regular season, Fernandez becomes the first Spanish-born coach to lead an NBA team. For the 41-year-old, who spent the past eight seasons as an assistant, the dream come true doesn’t change the reality of what’s in front of him.

“[It's] an honor, because of the journey, and where I come from,” Fernandez said this week. “But other than that, it’s the next step, and I don't want to stop in my career and then just be happy with it. Like, there's no reason to just feel good about yourself and that's it.

“It's like celebrate or feel proud of it and [it's an] honor also to represent my country, culture that [I] come from . . . but at the same time, got to move on at some point.”

Fernandez might not want to reflect as much but his players sense there’s a different energy going into State Farm Arena. They recognize what it means for a first-time coach to have this opportunity.

“It’s huge for him,” Ben Simmons said at shootaround Wednesday. “I’m happy for him, but it’s going to be a lot of work and energy that goes into this. It’s the first game, We’ll take it day by day. I’m excited for him.”

“His energy is definitely up and I think it's across the coaching staff too,” added Cam Johnson this week.

The excitement has also come with some early standards of the culture Fernandez wants to set. He’s emphasized the Nets being conditioned as several players noted training camp was the hardest they've experienced.

Players also noticed how his direct way of speaking keeps them accountable. He can be frank with his honesty, as he showed while criticizing them after a preseason loss to the 76ers.

Yet his expectations also come with a Nets’ front office seeing bigger plans. This season is a rebuilding one where the losses could add up and the Nets’ brass are evaluating who’s staying beyond this season.

It means this season could mostly be a bridge to the 2025 offseason where they’ll have the most cap space of any team. But Fernandez however, isn’t thinking about a rebuild and neither are his players.

Dorian Finney-Smith denounced the idea immediately at media day by saying the Nets are trying to win games. He added Wednesday that it’s easier to focus on being competitive because of the team’s younger players looking to prove themselves.

“They don't know what a rebuild looks like. I've kind of been through that, you know, early in my career,” Finney-Smith said. “When I was in their shoes, I didn't really understand what a rebuild was because I'm trying to play, earn minutes, and, earn your keep in the NBA. So you’re not trying to think about losing.”

The same could be said for Fernandez. While an assistant with the Nuggets and Kings, he was only a part of one losing season. In 2016-17, the Nuggets finished 40-42 in Fernandez’s first season under coach Michael Malone.

The task is a lot harder in Brooklyn with a team in transition. There are, however, young players looking to make a mark or grow their games. The veterans like Simmons, have embraced how Fernandez is challenging them.

So Wednesday presents a start for Fernandez that he’s waited his whole life for. It’s a moment he’ll cherish but he wants that moment to be part of more things to come as he’s tasked with leading this next Nets era.

“My goal is not just to get here but to sustain it and be a head coach for many years,” Fernandez said. “Be a head coach of a winning team for many years, be a head coach of a team that is going to fight for a championship.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.