Will Lopez appointed assistant coach

The Cairns Taipans are pleased to announce that Cairns Dolphins Head Coach Will Lopez has been appointed Taipans assistant coach for the upcoming 2024-25 NBL season.
 
Lopez moved from Sydney in 2021, joining Cairns Basketball as the Basketball Development Manager where he’s spent the last three seasons working in the Taipans coaching ranks under 2023 NBL Coach of the Year, Adam Forde.
 
Since moving to Cairns, Lopez has been integral to Cairns’ NBL1 North program, initially as assistant coach of the Cairns Marlins and more recently as the Head Coach of the Dolphins.
 
Prior to joining the Taipans, Lopez spent nearly a decade across various roles in New South Wales, namely as the High Performance Coach for Basketball NSW and Head Coach of the Bankstown Bruins in the NBL1 and Waratah League.
 
In these roles, Lopez held a strong focus on development. With the Bruins he led their 'Skills and Development Program' for four years where he developed over 400 young players and mentored 25 coaches.
 
This focus continued into his tenure at Cairns Basketball, where alongside his NBL1 duties he led the junior development programs and assisted in upskilling the association’s coaches.
 
Lopez lines up alongside Head Coach Adam Forde and lead assistant coach Kerry Williams.