Colorful expressions and similes abound! Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Micah Nori still has the gift of the gab.
Shortly following Blazers President Dewayne Hankin’s tense interview session to open Trail Blazers Media Day 2026 on Monday, Nori’s 21-minute turn at the podium served as the perfect palate cleanser to get fans inspired about the talent of this team and the new season ahead in Rip City.
“When you start to put together the roster, it’s like Christmas Eve looking to see how all these combinations
[work together] and what this thing is gonna look like,” Nori said. “ … And it’s been a great summer. It always is when you don’t take any losses, so you’re still undefeated.”
With his motor-mouth delivery, Nori burned through season storylines like balancing the Blazers’ crowded backcourt situation, building on the team’s defensive progress, the excellence of Damian Lillard and more. Dating back to his sideline television interviews as an assistant coach with the Timberwolves, Nori arrived in Portland this summer already heralded as a good quote.His introductory press conference in late June only confirmed the jovial reputation that earned him the “Ted Lasso” nickname.
However, while it doesn’t show through too much in Nori’s humorous media interviews, Blazers players who’ve got to know him over the past few months discussed on Media Day another, sterner side of their head coach. One that he breaks out when it’s time to get serious. One that’s built for holding players accountable.
Blazers veteran center Robert Williams III referred to it when he commended Nori’s straightforwardness, adding that he doesn’t BS or let others BS, either. Two-time NBA Champion Jrue Holiday spoke in a similar vein when he characterized Nori as a fun, great guy to be around who also comes with an “F-You attitude.” Summer acquisition Ja Morant called Nori “upfront” and his communication “big time,” saying the coach has been especially helpful as Morant has transitioned to his new team.
“I feel like he’s a great player’s coach,” Morant said. “And I feel like guys will definitely connect with him and the city will, for sure.”
Blazers all-time leading scorer Damian Lillard has come away with a similar early impression of Nori. He’s got to interact with both sides of Nori — the affable and the stern — during early-morning conversations this offseason at the Blazers practice facility. The rookie head coach and the franchise legend are both early birds, so when Lillard hits the training table a little before 7 a.m., Nori joins him. That’s when the two chat about all kinds of stuff, basketball-related or not. Those experiences have also led Lillard to describe Nori as a player’s coach.
“I can see how him as an assistant coach for all these years, I can see him having great relationships with all these players on the team,” Lillard said. “But then you see the side of him that’s a little more stern. You see the balance of him. That’s what I like because I like a tight ship.”
When you listen to Nori talk about how relationship-building factors into his coaching philosophy, the early impressions given by his players don’t come as a surprise. Nori’s intention with that aspect of the sport should pay dividends as he moves to the head coaching chair and implements his program in Portland this season.
“For me, it’s relationship-based so much more … than just X’s and O’s,” Nori said. “When I first got into this, I really thought it was ‘how can I get a shot for this guy to win a game? how can we do this and that?’ But it really, truly just comes down to building relationships with people; getting the most out of them individually; and then collectively as a group, seeing what we can do on a nightly basis to see how many basketball games we can win.”
