Joonas Iisalo

Joonas Iisalo (born 5 January 1986) is a Finnish basketball coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the MLP Academics Heidelberg.

Standing at 1.90m, Iisalo played as shooting guard during his playing career. He capped for Finnish youth national teams on many occasions.

Early life
Joonas Iisalo's father worked as a foreign correspondent in East Berlin in the 1980s.

Both Joonas and his older brother Tuomas later became professional basketball coaches. Their sister Meri Valkama became a journalist who won the 2021 prize for best debut novel in Finland with her book "Sinun, Margot" where she describes the story of the Iisalo family.

Coaching career
Joonas coached as an associate head coach to his brother Tuomas for the Crailsheim Merlins and for the Telekom Baskets Bonn. For the 2022–23 season, he switched teams to become head coach of the Bundesliga competitor MLP Academics Heidelberg. On 27 September 2023, he extended his contract with Heidelberg, signing a deal until the end of 2025–26 season.

Coaching style
According to reports, the Iisalo style has been based on pace, many three-point shots and strong offensive rebounding.

Personal
Joonas Iisalo is married and has three children.