Alex Sarama
| File:AlexSaramaBio.jpg | |
| Portland Fire | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head Coach |
| League | WNBA |
| Career history | |
Coaching | |
| 2023–24 | Rip City Remix (Director of Player Development) |
| 2024–25 | Cleveland Cavaliers (Director of Player Development) |
| 2026 | Portland Fire (Head coach) |
| Stats at NBA.comLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Stats at Basketball ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Stats at Basketball ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | |
Alex Sarama is a British basketball coach, who is director of player development and an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been appointed head coach of the WNBA's Portland Fire, beginning in 2026.[1] He has also worked with the London Lions, NBA EMEA, Paris Basketball, and the Rip City Remix.[2]
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Alex Sarama is originally from Guildford, England.[3] He studied history at the University of Nottingham.[4]
Career
[edit | edit source]Sarama began working in Europe, including a role with the NBA Europe office in Madrid, where he helped deliver basketball initiatives for the league in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.[4] He also spent time with College Basket Borgomanero in Italy where he began applying an ecological/constraints-led training philosophy.[3]
Sarama worked for the London Lions of the Women's British Basketball League.[5] He worked as director of player development for the inaugural season (2023–24) of the Rip City Remix, the NBA G League team affiliated with the Portland Trail Blazers.[6]
He was assistant coach and head of player development for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA.[3]
Portland Fire
[edit | edit source]In October 2025, Sarama was named the first head coach of the Portland Fire, an expansion franchise in the WNBA set to debut in 2026.[5][6] The hiring was described as aligning with the team’s vision of adopting an evidence-based, innovation-driven culture:
“Alex represents the next generation of coaching… his approach to player development, grounded in evidence-based science, research and creativity, aligns with our vision to make Portland a global hub for innovation in women’s sports.” — GM Vanja Černivec[6]
Coaching philosophy
[edit | edit source]Sarama is an advocate of the Constraints-Led Approach (CLA) to skill acquisition and practice design — a methodology that emphasises decision-making, adaptability and game-representative environments instead of traditional, isolated drills.[7] His book Transforming Basketball was published in April 2024.[3]
References
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