Happy belated Father’s Day, Micah Nori.
On Tuesday, the Portland Trail Blazers announced Micah Nori would be the franchise’s next head coach. A 17-year veteran NBA assistant coach, Micah is the father of Phillies outfield prospect Dante Nori, a 2024 first-round pick.
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Micah Nori was the lead assistant coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves for the past five seasons, supporting the development of star shooting guard Anthony Edwards. Notably, with head coach Chris Finch sidelined with a ruptured patellar tendon during the 2024 playoffs, Nori took over a majority of the game day operations that postseason. The Timberwolves went on to make the Western Conference finals.
Just over a month after the Timberwolves fell to the Dallas Mavericks in that series, Micah was with a 19-year-old Dante when he was drafted by the Phillies with the 27th pick out of Northville (Mich.) High School.
Earlier this week, prior to the Blazers announcement, Dante appeared on The Show before The Show, Minor League Baseball’s official podcast. On the podcast, he talked about the various NBA players he grew up around due to his father’s profession. When Micah coached for the Toronto Raptors, Dante got to hang out with Vince Carter. Then, when his father was hired by the Kings, he learned from DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins.
More recently, he has taken inspiration from Edwards’ work ethic.
“I mean, [Edwards is] a freak,” Dante said. “The most explosive athlete I’ve ever seen in my entire life. You see the way he takes care of his business. Like, he’s one of the top five players in the NBA. And personally, I’d say he’s No. 1. You know how that goes.
“When I go [to the Timberwolves practice facility], I’m always in there like 5 a.m. lifting before they get in because I’m on their time. As soon as I’m done, [Edwards] is one of the first ones in. No matter what level you’re at, the work, he never stops. He always wants more.”
In March, Dante starred in the World Baseball Classic. In six games with Italy, the outfielder had a 1.185 OPS with two home runs and six RBIs in six games.
Prior to the semifinal, Dante got a shoutout from Alex Rodríguez — who is also a co-owner of the Timberwolves.
“This is a future star,” Rodríguez said on the Fox pregame show. “Dante Nori. Do not forget the name.”
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Rodríguez’s proximity to Dante’s father may have made him a bit biased.
“People were like, ‘Let’s take that with a grain of salt,’” Nori told the Inquirer. “You laugh. As soon as I saw that, I was like, ‘Oh, here we go. Someone’s typing [a message]. Someone’s typing.’ I laughed about it, though.”
Off the field, Dante is an avid baseball card collector. Micah, who played baseball at Indiana before finding a career in basketball, shares this interest with him. He even helped Dante track down some of his rookie cards on eBay.
“When I paid, I used my real name and address,” Micah told the Inquirer. “The guy was like, ‘Wait, are you related?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I’m his dad.’ It’s a cool little community. Because the people would be like, ‘Oh my gosh. I have a couple more right here. I’ll send them to you.’”
Micah inherits a Blazers team that finished 42-40 and is headlined by 25-year-old All-Star forward Deni Avdija and veteran Damian Lillard. Interim coach Tiago Splitter was hired by the Bulls after stepping in to lead the team after then-coach Chauncey Billups was arrested by the FBI following an investigation into illegal sports betting and rigged poker games.
Dante, 21, is batting .245 with 12 stolen bases in 52 games at double-A Reading this season.
Father’s Day will hit a little differently this year for Don and Preston Mattingly. After years of working in baseball for different teams, often on opposite sides of the country, they are together with the Phillies as the first father-and-son manager-and-GM combination ever. Preston Mattingly joins Phillies Extra to discuss working with his dad, as well as the Phillies’ decision to demote Andrew Painter to the minors and their preparations for the trade deadline. Watch here.
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