5 Things to Know About James Borrego

He is the NBA’s First Latino Head Coach

The league’s global footprint has reached regions all across the world, including Latin America. But there has been a steady decline in Latin representation on NBA rosters in recent years. Hispanics have also had a hard time breaking through the coaching ranks.

According to the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, nearly 2.3 percent of NBA players were Latino last season. None of the league’s 30 head coaches had ties to Hispanic origins. Borrego, who is of Mexican descent, says he hopes to blaze a trail for others to follow.

“I want to be an inspiration for young men and women, to show you can be anything you want to be,” said Borrego in a written op-ed in Sports Illustrated. “It doesn’t matter where you’re from, how you were brought up, the color of your skin. That’s the lens I look at this through.”

He also credits his Hispanic background and New Mexico upbringing for teaching him the values of love and family.