Kyoto Hannaryz, a professional basketball club based in the city known as one of the most popular destinations in the world, has hired a Canadian coach Roy Rana. The club announced Thursday.

Coach Rana, who is currently also the head coach for Egyptian national team, now tries to extend his own legacy to the city of tradition by bringing in the experiences and knowledge he earned in the prestigious NBA and international competitions.

Rana's 25 year coaching career includes a recent 3-year tenure as an assistant for the Sacramento Kings and an appearance in Tokyo 2020 as an assistant for the German national team which made the quarterfinal. He is known for helping Toronto Raptors' German star Issac Bonga develop during the time with the German squad.

He led the Canadian men's national team to the FIBA World Cup 2019 as the bench boss during the qualification process before current head coach Nick Nurse took over the responsibility in Shanghai. Rana was the head coach who won the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup in 2017 with a team that featured New York Knicks star RJ Barrett and other young talents.

Coach Roy Rana, written in Japanese as ロイ・ラナ, expressed his passion for the new job by saying "It is a great honor to be a part of the Kyoto Hannariez club and I am looking forward to leading the team based in one of the greatest cities in the world."

"Knowing the rapid emergence of the B.LEAGUE on the global basketball scene, I am eager to establish the Kyoto Hannariez identity and will take on the challenge with my best effort possible."

*Coach Rana's comment was interpreted from the Japanese in the original announcement.

Kyoto Hannaryz first came into life in 2008. Now the club plays in the Western Conference of the B1 League, which is the highest level competition of the B.LEAGUE, the men's professional league in Japan. The most recently, Kyoto had a 14-43 record and 9th finish in the Western Conference for the 2021-22 season, where they missed the postseason appearance.

The club nick name of Hannaryz came after a local dialect "han-nari" or "はんなり", which expresses the value of elegance and gorgeousness people feel when they explor the city of Kyoto.

Kyoto's general manager Takuma Watanabe also released a comment in which he said "We feel like we are facing a new phase for our team building process and reached out to coach Rana because he has the experiences and knowledge that are necessary for us moving forward."

Text by Takeshi Shibata