On Tuesday, the Portland Fire officially introduced Alex Sarama as the franchise’s first head coach.
General manager Vanja Γernivec and Sarama took the podium to address the Fire’s offseason plans with the media. Ashley Battle, recently hired as Portland’s Vice President of Basketball Operations, Strategy, and Innovation, was also in attendance.
Sarama Expresses Excitement, Familiarity with Portland
At the start of the introductory press conference, Sarama mentioned that the expansion team will do something special around the city, using innovative ideas and approaches.
“It is great to be back,” Sarama said Tuesday. “I want to start by saying, what an honor to be the first head coach in this new era of Portland Fire history. Before I start by thanking everyone who made this possible, I want to express just how excited I am to be here. From the first conversations I had with Vanja (Δernivec), it was apparent just how incredible this opportunity is, and that’s because I truly believe we will be creating something unique. Not just within the context of the WNBA, but the professional sports landscape as a whole.”
A monumental day in Portland Fire franchise history, welcoming our new Head Coach Alex Sarama! pic.twitter.com/MtvzsD7mrK
β Portland Fire (@theportlandfire) October 28, 2025
“By hiring an entire staff of individuals who are passionate about continuous learning and development, passionate about pushing the boundaries of how things have always been done, and challenging the status quo, we want to benefit from being the first movers in the space to create a winning program right here in Portland. That’s because the vision of the franchise is crystal clear. We’ll be going all-in with an evidence-based approach in every single department.”
Sarama also has familiarity with Portland, where he worked with the G League team, the Rip City Remix, as Director of Player Development.
βFor me, value-wise, when I look at Portland, there’s no better city that epitomizes things like social equality and racial justice,” Sarama said. “I really think at the Fire it’s perfect because it aligns with usΒ completely as an organization.β
Why Γernivec believes Sarama fills the voids as Fire’s head coach
When explaining why Sarama is the best candidate for the Fire’s head coaching position, Γernivec outlined the reasons from both basketball and personal perspectives.
βWe were very intentional in conducting a wide and rigorous search,” Γernivec said. “We had a criteria on the human side and on the basketball side. On the human side, it was very important to us that we bring someone in that will be able to develop and grow with the organization, someone that will come in very humble and not think they have all the answers. As an expansion team, right now we operate in the environment where we have more questions than answers. Therefore, a coach that is comfortable operating in the unknown and just taking the steps in the dark, not knowing what the future brings.”
“On the basketball side, we were looking for someone that brings an evidence-based approach to coaching, innovating coaching, someone that puts the athlete in the center of what they do, and someone that’s very passionate in bringing down the silos. We see so many silos in different sporting organizations between the departments, so we were intentional of bringing someone in that will do the opposite, that will empower everyone on the staff to chip in a piece of the puzzle. Alex (Sarama) fit all those criteria and even more.”
While leading the Fire as head coach, Sarama will also retain responsibilities as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers under head coach Kenny Atkinson during the 2025-26 season.
With Portland having waited a long time for a WNBA team, Γernivec and Sarama emphasized their passion for the fans and expressed excitement to get to work.
βHead Coach Alex Sarama represents the next generation of coaching. Heβs not just teaching the game, heβs transforming it.β – Vanja Δernivec pic.twitter.com/SRmX6KRnr3
β Portland Fire (@theportlandfire) October 28, 2025
Sarama Shares Championship Strategy
More importantly, Sarama expressed his desire to lay the foundation for winning a championship with the Fire while maintaining strong relationships with the players and building a positive culture.
He also shared his excitement about the opportunity to serve as the head coach for Portland.
“For me, it starts with complete transparency with the players and having frequent and very regular conversations,” Sarama said.Β “I’m a huge believer that the best environments are player-led…so I really believe that starting with transformational leadership and providing opportunities for autonomy will put us in a really strong position to have great relationships with our athletes.”
Fire GM Γernivec and Coach Sarama Discuss Roster Strategy and Analytics
When it comes to defining the Fire’s vision and measure of success in their first season, Sarama said the goal is “to create one of the leading analytics programs in the WNBA.” One of his priorities is player health, which is whyΒ Portland is going “all-in with this evidence-based approach.”
Γernivec also echoed Sarama’s statement, saying she aims to strengthen the identity of the Fire’s roster by building lasting relationships. Furthermore, her vision as Portland’s general manager involves finding players who fit well within the team’s system.
“Definitely good human beings, good teammates,” Γernivec said. “Any organization I touch, it’s always a part of my recruitment on the coaching staff and on the players. And then we’re going to look for versatile players that can move between the positions.Β Very high basketball IQ.Β Probably players that will able to shoot, stretch the floor and just like hard working players that will want to be coached hard, want to get better. So that’s my vision.”
New Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama on the importance of a good player-coach relationship and what goes into creating and maintaining that relationship with both young and veteran players. π₯πΉπ@WorldExposureWB | @theportlandfire pic.twitter.com/5hdrbvCL7Q
β Brenden_Potts (@BrendenPotts) October 28, 2025
Putting together the puzzle pieces for the Fire
After the Portland Fire hired Battle and Sarama, Γernivec emphasized the transformation of the expansion franchise.
Since serving as Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Golden State Valkyries, Γernivec and Portland aim to transform the WNBA using Sarama’s constraints-led approach, complemented by his international experience.
Not to mention, Γernivec noted that having a former WNBA player as her second-in-command and a head coach with valuable overseas experience is a “dream come true.”Β She added, “We’re just getting started.”
“Ashley [Battle] and Alex [Sarama] are just two pieces of the puzzle,” Γernivec said. “When you want to innovate in an organization, one person can never do it. It has to be the whole team. We’re going to continue to build a diverse group of people and staff across the entire team that will work under the same methodology. That’s our goal, number one.”
“We are also starting to focus on identifying players that will fit our organizational kind of vision strategy and the way Alex wants to play, and are patiently waiting for the answers about rules on the expansion draft and what the new CBA will bring, said Γernivec.Β “The ultimate goal here is to create an environment that the new generations and current generation of athletes will want to come play andΒ play in Portland.β
After naming Sarama as the franchise’s first head coach, the Fire’s next step is to build its roster through the expansion draft and free agency.Β
Despite the uncertainty about when Portland and the Toronto Tempo will have an expansion draft due to CBA negotiations, Portland seems to be heading in the right direction after falling behind earlier this year.
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Portland Fire Names Alex Sarama as Head Coach