Portland Fire names Alex Sarama as first head coach, team to begin play next season

The Fire, who begin play next season, had leaked the hire a few days earlier on one of their social media pages.

“Alex represents the next generation of coaching,” Fire general manager Vanja Černivec said. “He’s not just teaching the game, he’s transforming it. 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."

Sarama worked with Černivec at the NBA Europe office in Madrid many years ago. The two also worked together at the London Lions women in the British Basketball League.

“The opportunity to build something from the ground up is unique,” Sarama said. “At the Fire, we’re not just creating a team — we’re redefining how the game is taught and played, through an approach centered around adaptability and supported by evidence-informed methodologies. We want to create a new standard for the game.”

Sarama joins Portland after serving as an assistant and director of player development for the Cavaliers.

Sarama is one of the proponents of the Constraints-Led Approach, or CLA training philosophy. San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama and Kelsey Plum are among those who have embraced the method, which eschews repetitive isolated drills and instead encourages creativity and problem-solving by manipulating constraints, including things like rules and time limits.

Sarama wrote about many of the CLA principles in his book, “Transforming Basketball," published in 2024.

Sarama was the director of player development for the Rip City Remix, the Portland Trail Blazers' NBA G League team, for its inaugural season in 2023-24 before joining the Cavaliers.

Earlier this week, the Fire named Ashley Battle as the team's vice president of basketball operations, strategy and innovation.

Battle, a former star at UConn, comes to the Fire from the Maine Celtics, the Boston Celtics' G League affiliate, where she was assistant general manager.

Battle also served as a scout for the Celtics and spent the last three seasons as part of the broadcast team for the WNBA's Connecticut Sun.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball