He's called the 'Ted Lasso of the NBA': Wolves assistant Micah Nori

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - He’s been called the "Ted Lasso of the NBA." Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori has spun traditionally predictable halftime interviews into gold with his Lasso-esque style.

Amy Hockert sat down with Nori and found out there’s a lot more to his story than his memorable metaphors.

Behind his sense of humor, there’s a lot of heart.

The morning after a late-night game, Micah Nori is spending his day off coaching in a small high school gym in Minneapolis. It’s his first time working with Roosevelt’s "Unified Basketball Team" but within five minutes, he knows every player by name.

He credits his dad, a coach, and his mom, a kindergarten teacher for 35 years, for teaching him that when you ask someone for something, you make it personal.

Personal connections have been the undercurrent in Nori’s 25 years in the NBA. His first big break in the league came after college, from an Ohio hometown connection, Butch Carter, brother of Vikings legend Cris Carter.

"He said, ‘would you have any interest in coming up and being an intern with the NBA Toronto Raptors?’ And I said, 'Butch, I've been hitting baseballs for the last four years.' And he said, 'Yeah, it would be more the X's and O's' and he gave me some great advice that number one, it's dealing with people and getting to connect with people and getting them to trust you."

That’s also where Nori connected with former Raptor forward Dell Curry and his young sons Steph and Seth – yes that Steph Curry. They are family friends to this day.

"All they wanted to shoot was NBA threes. And so they'd just be launching balls and they could make them. And then when their dad came in they'd all go inside the three-point line because he said no threes need to act like they're shooting."

After Toronto, Nori coached with the Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, and Detroit Pistons. In 2021, he landed in Minnesota where he had to start from scratch, building trust with a team full of superstars on the verge of a championship-caliber season. "Kat is an offensive juggernaut. Rudy is just a defensive stalwart. Mike Conley oh, gosh Captain Clutch, Ant has a chance to be one of the best ever."

And the feeling is mutual. Nickeil Alexander-Walker said this: "Someone like Micah connects the players and a lot of that just allows the bond to grow and bringing fun and life to the gym."

A few weeks ago, when Anthony Edwards notched a career-high 51 points, he dedicated it to Coach Nori in a post-game interview with Bally Sports North. "I will say that it was Micah's birthday today, and he turned 50, and I wanted to get 50 because of him so shout out to him."

Coach Nori’s commitment to connection goes beyond the players. He’s also won over the fanbase with his quirky Ted Lasso life and sports quotes during interviews.

"I always laugh when I would watch, you know, interviews with assistant coaches. And I feel bad because you kind of get the same question. So that's where it kind of came from. Just like in the 30 and 45 seconds, I thought two things. One, tell viewers the truth. You know what's really going on here. And then the other thing is to try to have a little bit of levity or humor, just, again, over the course of seven months and the monotony of the game, it's fun to break that up."

At halftime of the Wolves-Suns' first playoff game, Nori gave his trademark response. "We saw emotions, we saw things getting a little bit chippy. What did you see?"

"Well, you said it just because there's glass on the highway doesn't mean there's been a wreck. And what I mean by that is this is a one-point game. KAT and ANT combine for 7 points on 1-7 shooting." 

We asked him if he’d seen Ted Lasso.

"I've, uh, binge-watched Ted Lasso. They'd try to when I was doing it in Denver. Even our head coach, Mike Malone, was like, you know, can you get in different words, whether it be so, had Snuffleupagus head me out one time and they would bet and they would say, you know, you won't do this or you will. I was like, I'll do it. What are they going to, you know? And so and then it became the Ted Lasso stuff and then some of the sayings."

Right now, the Timberwolves are still rolling after an unprecedented season, battling it out in round one of the playoffs with the Suns. But you get the feeling that as much as he wants a championship, just like Ted Lasso, that’s not the legacy Coach Nori cares about the most.

"To be honest, it doesn't have anything to do with wins and losses. It's just more about these relationships. I still stay in touch with guys that I mean, the Charles Oakleys and Antonio Davises and mentioned Dell Currys and just all the way through. Just the relationships that you build with teammates, the people that you've worked with. Then lastly, you just hope to be a good husband, dad, and that type of thing. I mean, it sounds corny, but at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. It's still about people. So, at the end, I hope they just say, 'Hey, he was a good guy that again cares a little bit about people more so than he did himself. And that's fine."