The 79th NBA regular season is almost here. The world’s best basketball players and coaches will be on display across the United States come October 23. On the sidelines of one of the favorites to win the 2024-25 NBA championship, the Milwaukee Bucks, will be assistant coach Rex Kalamian. Kalamian, who is also the head coach of the Armenia men’s national basketball team, is gearing up for his 31st NBA season.
“An NBA season is such a long season, and there are stages of the season. We have one of the most experienced coaches in the league in Doc Rivers. He knows how to get a team into training camp, get prepared for the first stage of many and how to build a championship team, and that is what we are trying to do right now,” Kalamian told the Weekly.
Kalamian will be coaching his second season with the Milwaukee Bucks under head coach Doc Rivers. Rivers, who is an NBA champion and NBA Coach of the Year, has a longstanding relationship with Kalamian.
“I worked first with Doc with the LA Clippers a few years ago. In January of last year, Milwaukee hired him as their head coach about halfway into the season. So Doc called me and asked if I wanted to come with him to Milwaukee, and of course I said yes. So we took over here in early January, and it was a little different,” Kalamian said.
The Milwaukee Bucks were 30-13 when they hired Rivers, Kalamian and many other assistant coaches. The Bucks advanced to the 2023-24 NBA postseason as the third seed in the Eastern Conference but lost to the Indiana Pacers in the first round 4-2 after injuries to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
“Now for Doc to have an entire training camp to be able to work with the team and really mold the team into what he wants offensively and defensively, we’ll see a different team than what we were last year,” Kalamian said.
When it comes to what Kalamian wants to bring to his 31st NBA season, he hopes to have a more forward-thinking approach.
“I think the main thing is to just not coach day to day, moment to moment. I think what I’ve learned is to look ahead and anticipate and prepare for what is coming, whether it’s the next 10 days, maybe the next month. I think I’ve been really fortunate to have worked for so many great coaches throughout my career, that I’ve been able to steal experience from so many different guys and kind of shape me and mold me into who I am as a coach,” Kalamian said.
With a full NBA offseason behind the Bucks, a healthy Antetokounmpo and Lillard are expected to be a go for the new season. Kalamian has coached some of the world’s best basketball players — Kevin Durant, Paul George, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook, to name a few. However, when it comes to Antetokounmpo, Kalamian finds it difficult to compare him to many.
“He does something every night in a game that I’ve never seen done before — whether it’s how he gets to the rim, how he finishes, the angles he finishes, layups and different things from behind the backboard. It’s amazing to me, and I often find myself shaking my head like, wow, I don’t believe he got to the rim on that particular play. He is a generational talent in terms of transition basketball and finding the rim. His size, his speed, strength and athleticism — all at an elite level, off the charts. So for me, I enjoy not only him as a person, but I just enjoy watching his talent every night. You see why he’s so good, because he has the type of work ethic that lends itself to improvement,” Kalamian said.
The Milwaukee Bucks don’t only have one superstar-caliber player. Eight time NBA All-Star Lillard joined the Bucks via trade in 2023, and ever since, Kalamian and Lillard have grown a bond.
“I spent a little time with Dame in Portland where he spent some of his time in the summer. I went out there and worked with him, and I was able to kind of get to know him even more. But he’s such a basketball purist. He loves to talk basketball, and he knows everything about the league. He’s such a student of the game, and I really like that about him,” Kalamian said.
Kalamian is in a position to once again compete for an NBA championship. While the Bucks hold the eighth-best odds to win the chip at +1400 on DraftKings, expectations remain high with the level of star-studded talent on this year’s Bucks squad.
The city of Milwaukee marks Kalamian’s eighth NBA city as an assistant coach, and he admits it’s been an adjustment since signing on earlier in 2024. However, despite his limited time in Cream City, he’s experienced great fan support.
“It’s been a little bit of a change, but I’ve lived in so many different cities — Oklahoma, Toronto, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Minnesota, Denver, Detroit, and now I’m in Milwaukee. I’m just trying to acclimate myself to learn the city, learn the people, find out where great restaurants are in town and enjoy Milwaukee. The people here are really, really nice, and they absolutely love the Milwaukee Bucks. The fan support is tremendous,” Kalamian said.
While the NBA season tips off, Kalamian won’t only have his eyes on American hoops. Since January 2022, Kalamian has served as the head coach of the Armenia men’s national basketball team. One of the team’s more recent accomplishments includes hosting friendly tournaments in Los Angeles. Armenia played France twice in the inaugural tournament in 2023, and Armenia defeated Guatemala 89-57 and Ireland 92-91 in the 2024 tournament (both held in Los Angeles).
“I think this summer, we had two teams that were more competitive. We were more competitive against Guatemala and Ireland, who are both ranked right around where we are in the world. And we played very, very well. The fans came out again. I love and appreciate the support of our Armenia basketball fans, and that number is growing every day. Armenia basketball is a brand that is going to be here for a very long time. It’s on the rise, and I’m very excited with where we are right now,” Kalamian said.
This year, two Armenians are joining the NCAA Division I ranks — Greg Gazarian to CSUN and Avand Dorian to USC. Kalamian sees this as a major step forward for Armenian basketball.
“I think it’s terrific. We need more representation from the Armenian basketball community, not only playing, but coaching. To see any standout players like Avand and Greg continuing into Division I playing basketball, I think is tremendous, not just for them, but for the entire Armenian community. We have multiple players playing in Division I basketball. Connor Essegian is another one on our team,” Kalamian said.
Kalamian’s ultimate goal with Armenian basketball is to develop the game from within Armenia. “Eventually, I want to keep building the national team with as many players from Armenia, from Yerevan as we can get,” Kalamian said. “In order for us to put a team together that can compete in FIBA-sanctioned games, the players have to have a passport and citizenship, and sometimes it’s a process to get paperwork done and get FIBA to recognize some of our players. I will say this, there are rules and regulations on who can play for national teams, and each national team can have one naturalized player as well. So the USA, for instance, had Joel Embiid who was a naturalized player for them. We have Chris Jones who is our naturalized player. Everybody else on the team has citizenship and a passport,” Kalamian explained.
The rules of who can and can’t play FIBA basketball will continue to be an obstacle for Armenia basketball. Considering how large the Armenian Diaspora is, talent can be found anywhere. “I get a lot of messages from players around the world who say, ‘I want to play on the Armenia national team, I’m Armenian,’ and always the first question I’m asking is where were you born, where were your parents born, what passports do you have? The talent pool, I hope one day, will be predominantly from Armenia. But for right now, it’s all over the world. We have players in Canada, Lebanon and Egypt that are FIBA-recognized,” Kalamian said.
Armenian basketball is still in its infancy. The growth of Armenian basketball as a product and a brand can be attributed to many things, but Kalamian said support from the Diaspora has made it possible. “Our funding and resources come from the Diaspora and people all over the world that want to see Armenia basketball prosper and grow. Our biggest supporter has been Tony Safoian from SADA. Tony has been so great to us from day one, and we’ve had other terrific sponsors. I’m always talking to other people to get people onboard with what we’re doing,” he said.
Kalamian knows what it takes to get the ball rolling. If basketball can blossom in Armenia, then the country’s chances of success in FIBA-sanctioned events will improve. Knowing this, Kalamian announced that he is not only involved with the national basketball team in Armenia.
“There are so many projects that we’re doing — not just Armenia basketball, not just the national team. Helping with the Armenian championships that are held in Yerevan, which include six teams where all these players play. They play a number of games to find a champion from different regions in Armenia, and by doing that, we’re trying to develop basketball and develop players. The more we can get interest from all these players in Armenia, the stronger the game will be. We’re developing an Armenian basketball academy in Yerevan as well. We have identified a gym and an area, and we’re in the process of putting plans together to put an academy there, not just for the national teams, but also for the community,” Kalamian said.
When asked about the Armenian basketball academy, Kalamian said that an announcement will be made soon. “If you look around the world, they have some of them in Greece, Georgia and Slovenia. These countries are far ahead of us in terms of team sports and basketball specifically, and we need to catch up. And I’m hoping to lend my experience to catch up,” Kalamian said.
Armenia has a major task ahead. The country will host Austria on November 24 during the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers. “We’re going to have one of our biggest games of our careers, really, against Austria. We need to win this game. Any support from any organizations is really appreciated. Moving players around and on planes is not an easy thing to do,” Kalamian said. He told the Weekly he is unsure whether he will be at the game in person, and a final decision has not been made.
For now, a new NBA season is in Kalamian’s immediate path.There are a couple of games that he is setting his sights on.
“Opening night in Philadelphia is going to be really good. There are a lot of storylines — Doc Rivers coming back to the place he coached, how Philly is going to look with Paul George, how we’re going to look at full strength. I think it’s going to be a really fun night. Philadelphia is one of the best sports towns in general, so I think the fans will go crazy there. Honestly, going to Boston is always fun also. We have an early game in Boston. It’s our fourth game of the season, and we’re playing the world champions,” Kalamian said.
Jason Takhtadjian
Latest posts by Jason Takhtadjian (see all)
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