The Portland Fire begin play in 2026, becoming the 15th WNBA franchise as the league continues its rapid expansion. On Friday morning, the franchise named the first head coach of this iteration of the Fire: Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Alex Sarama.
Sarama brings a very unique background to the WNBA. An English-born coach, he made his way through the world of European basketball, working in basketball operations for NBA Europe before moving into assistant coaching roles in Belgium, Italy and France. In 2023, he joined the staff of the London Lions as director of methodology, working under Vanja Černivec, who is now Portland's general manager.
