Who is the New Calgary Surge Head Coach Kaleb Canales?
Learn about the new Calgary Surge Head Coach Kaleb Canales and what he’s bringing to the team and the CEBL.
Kaleb Canales has been named the head coach of the Calgary Surge of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). Coach Canales’s coaching career dates back to 2001 at the high school level and has been coaching on the NBA level as an assistant coach since 2008. A total of 24 years’ worth of basketball coaching experience on 4 different levels of basketball.
Coach Canales also becomes the first head coach of a CEBL team with prior NBA head coaching experience.
In this article, you’ll learn about Coach Canales’s coaching career, philosophy, and what he brings to the Calgary Surge.
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Coaching Experience
High School Level
Coach Canales started his coaching career in 2001 with Martin High School located in Laredo, Texas as an assistant coach for a singular season. He then went to United High School in the same county as an assistant coach.
Colligate Level
Coach Canales then became an assistant coach for the Arlington Mavericks of The University of Texas at Arlington, his alumni for the 2003-2004 season.
NBA Coaching Career
Portland Trail Blazers (2008-2013)
Canales started his NBA career in the Portland Trail Blazers video room as an intern in 2005, eventually leading him being promoted to the team’s video coordinator.
For the 2009-2010 season, Canales was promoted to assistant coach under Nate McMillian, He later served as their summer league head coach in 2010 and 2012. 2 seasons later, the Blazers fired Nate McMillian, naming Canales the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2011-2012 season. His coaching record was 8-15 when the team finished their season.
Canales was also the youngest active head coach and the first Mexican-American head coach in the NBA, when he took over as the interim head coach. He was considered a finalist for the open vacancy for the head coaching position, but the team later hired Terry Stotts. He remained as an assistant for the 2012-2013 season before leaving for the Dallas Mavericks.
In his 5 years as an assistant coach with the Blazers, he notably coached and worked with LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, Brandon Roy, Jamal Crawford, and Damian Lillard, who won Rookie of the Year in Canales’s last season with the team and has built a relationship with him throughout the years.
Dallas Mavericks (2013-2018)
Coach Canales was hired as an assistant coach under Rick Carlisle, replacing assistant coach and longtime NBA veteran Jim O’Brien who retired. Canales was named the offensive coordinator. In his first season with the team, the Mavericks finished with the 3rd best offense in the league. For the remainder of his tenure with the Mavericks, their offensive rating by season were:
2014-2015: 5th overall in the league.
2015-2016: 11th overall in the league.
2016-2017: 25th overall in the league (First losing season in team history since 2000).
2018-2018: 24th overall in the league.
In Canales’s 5 years with the Mavericks, he notably coached Hall of Famers Dirk Nowitzki and Vince Carter, along with José Calderón, Amar'e Stoudemire, Richard Jefferson, Zaza Pachulia, JaVale McGee, David Lee, J. J. Barea, and Harrison Barnes.
New York Knicks (2018-2020)
Coach Canales became an assistant coach under David Fizdale with the New York Knicks from 2018-2020. The Knicks later fired Coach Fizdale in 2019 however Canales was retained as an assistant for the remainder of the season under interim coach Mike Miller.
Indiana Pacers (2020-2021)
He later became an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers under Nate Bjorkgren for the 2019-2020 season. There was high tension between Coach Bjorkgren and the locker room, along with failing to make the playoffs, resulting in Bjorkgren being dismissed at the end of the season.
The Pacers roster notably featured Myles Turner, Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. McConnell, Doug McDermott, and Caris LeVert.
International Basketball
Coach Canales is no stranger to coaching on the international level, since 2021, he has been the associate head coach for the Mexican men’s national basketball team.
In November 2021, Mexico defeated Team USA during a qualifying round for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. On September 2, 2022, Mexico defeated Team USA once again during the 2022 FIBA AmeriCup in Recife, Brazil.
On August 16, 2023, Team Mexico defeated the Kansas State University Wildcats in an exhibition game in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Kansas State had previously made it the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament during their 2022-2023 season.
Texas Legends (2023-2024)
Coach Canales was named as the associate head coach of the Texas Legends under Jordan Sears, the Dallas Mavericks G-League affiliation.
Assist 13 Foundation Inc (2009-)
Canales is the President, Founder, and member of the board of the Assist 13 Foundation since 2009. The foundation hosts and organizes basketball camps for youth programs in Loredo and neighboring cities of South Texas.
Coaching Philosophy
“I think my philosophy at this point is I think you really gotta adapt to the team that you have, that you have to be very flexible you got to understand the strengths weaknesses of their team but at the end of the day the most important thing is to you know build relationships with your team and to put them in the best possible position to succeed.” - Coach Canales
Coach Canales brings extensive player development experience and knowledge that will highly benefit both this program, the roster, and the league as a whole. He will make his coaching debut in May.