Thirsty for Wolves news?
Okay, maybe this isn’t the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, this is the best you’ll get in the middle of August. The Iowa Wolves, after finishing dead last in the NBA G League in the 2024-2025 season thanks to their second straight 7-27 record, decided to go in a different direction and signed the 2022 G League Coach of the Year, Mahmoud Abdelfattah.
Iowa parts ways with their previous head coach of two years, Ernest Scott. The Wolves had a good start to last season, nearly winning the Tip-Off Tournament, but Scott wasn’t able to adapt to the roster shake ups during the regular season. It’s a near certainty that Abdelfattah will guide Iowa to a much better record
A bar that’s not very high.
Who is Mahmoud Abdelfattah?
Mahmoud Abdelfattah in white SCSU jersey passing ball
scsuhuskies.com
The 36-year-old, Palestinian-American coach grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He was a competitive athlete, spending a few years as a standout basketball player at Wilbur Wright College before getting a scholarship to play at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. He helped SCSU advance to the NCAA DII Elite Eight as a Senior before returning a few years later as an assistant coach for four years.
It didn’t take long for Abdelfattah to get noticed by the big leagues.
The Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Houston Rockets affiliate, scooped him up as an assistant coach for their 2018-2019 championship run. That team starred Isaiah Hartenstein, who earned Finals MVP. Their success could be at least somewhat tied to Abdelfattah because just a season later, he saw one his coaching dreams come to life.
Abdelfattah was elevated to head coach of the Vipers, becoming the very first Muslim, let alone Palestinian, to become the head coach of a NBA or NBA G League team.
EDINBURG, TX - APRIL 12: Mahmoud Abdelfattah of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers huddles his team up against the Delaware Blue Coats during Game 1 of the 2021-22 G League Finals on April 12, 2022 at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Christian Inoferio/NBAE via Getty Images)
EDINBURG, TX - APRIL 12: Mahmoud Abdelfattah of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers huddles his team up against the Delaware Blue Coats during Game 1 of the 2021-22 G League Finals on April 12, 2022 at the Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Christian Inoferio/NBAE via Getty Images)
He spent three years at the helm with Rio Grande. They experienced a bit of championship hangover, going 16-26 before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the remainder of the season. The Vipers bounced back in the ensuing abridged season, making the playoffs and exiting in the first round. In Abdelfattah’s third and final season, he earned the G League Coach of the Year award, bringing Rio Grande right back to the finals where they swept the Delaware Blue Coats. Our ol’ friend Daishen Nix was a huge part of that championship run.
Abdelfattah continued to climb the ladder, ascending to a position with Houston Rockets as an assistant coach for the 2022-2023 season under head coach Stephen Silas. Though they finished a disappointing 22-60, tied for second worse in the league, that season did lay the some of the groundwork for their miraculous turnaround the follow year once Ime Udoka took over.
At this point, Abdelfattah was ready to lead a team again. The Sydney Kings of the National Basketball League (NBL), who were coming off two straight championships, hired him to try and lead them to a threepeat.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 29: Mahmoud Abdelfattah, Head Coach of the Kings addresses his player during the round 13 NBL match between Sydney Kings and Cairns Taipans at Qudos Bank Arena, on December 29, 2023, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 29: Mahmoud Abdelfattah, Head Coach of the Kings addresses his player during the round 13 NBL match between Sydney Kings and Cairns Taipans at Qudos Bank Arena, on December 29, 2023, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
The Kings struggled mightily, just barely missing the playoffs in their version of the play-in tournament. Some NBL fans believed that Abdelfattah was just the scapegoat for a rough season. To be fair, Sydney ended up with same fate in their next season without him. Meanwhile, Abdelfattah returned stateside as a team scout and assistant coach on Team USA, reuniting with head coach Stephen Silas for the 2025 Men’s AmeriCup Qualifying Team.
Now, he’ll get a chance to return to the NBA and guide a new look Iowa Wolves team. There’s going to be many new faces, but most excitingly Abdelfattah will get to help develop first round pick Joan Beringer, as well as two-way players Rocco Zikarsky, Tristen Newton, and Enrique Freeman.
I recommend you listen to this 2022 interview with Abdelfattah after he won his championship with the Vipers. You’ll get to know a lot more about what kind of coach he is, what he values on and off the court, and a sense of the type of person he is.
If you read one thing from this piece, I hope it’s this response to what led his path to the 2022 G League championship and Coach of the Year:
Basketball is beyond me. I don’t want to win championships. It’s not about winning and all the accolades. Being the first Palestinian Muslim, with a lot of things going on in the world, I want to be able to be that avenue for the younger Muslims and Palestinians in the world.
Being Muslim and Palestinian, there’s a country with a lot of things going on over there. My ultimate goal would be to go back to Palestine and build an academies and run camps over there. Just to help those kids enjoy and see there’s goodness to life.
Three years later, those statements are even more significant than ever. The ongoing devastation and genocide happening to the Palestinian people is certainly something that deserves more attention than it’s getting. I am certain it still weighs heavy on Abdelfattah and his family’s hearts, as it does to millions of people around the world.
As someone who already avidly followed the Iowa Wolves, the signing of Abdelfattah only makes me not want to miss a single game next season. As he said:
“*It’s bigger than me.*”