Today, the Suns officially announced that they had officially hired Jordan Ultra as the team's head coach.
Jordan Ott is 40 years old and is an alumnus of Michigan State University with Suns owner Ishbya. He worked as a video coordinator for the Hawks and began his coaching career under Budenholzer. Later, he served as assistant coaches for the Nets (under Atkinson, Vaughan), the Lakers (under Hamm), and the Cavaliers (under Atkinson).
Jordan Ott and Atkinson are close, and the two have worked with the Cavaliers for many years. Last year, Jordan Ott left the Lakers and followed Atkinson to join the Cavaliers, helping the team to score a record of 64 wins and 18 losses in the regular season, ranking first in the Eastern Conference.
Ott's 12 NBA seasons, his team has made the playoffs in total 10 times and has achieved a record of 517 wins and 447 losses (win rate of 53.6%). Prior to joining the Cavaliers, Ultra served as an assistant coach for two seasons with the Lakers and helped the team reach the Western Conference Finals in 2023. From 2016 to 2022, he served as an assistant coach for six seasons with the Nets, and in the last four seasons of that period, the Nets entered the playoffs every year. Ultra's first NBA job was in 2013-16 as video coordinator for the Hawks, during which he participated in the 2014-15 season with the 60-win qualifying record in the team's best record in the 2014-15 season.
Ott has also served as the head coach of the NBA Summer League three times, coaching the Cavaliers in 2024, coaching the Lakers in 2022, and coaching the Nets in 2021.