Coach Quin Snyder returns to Hawks’ bench against Pacers after missing 1 game due to an illness

ATLANTA (AP) - Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder returned to the bench for Thursday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers after missing one game due to an illness.

Snyder sat out Tuesday night's 127-121 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks with flu-like symptoms. Assistant Igor Kokoskov served as acting coach.

"His level of experience makes you very comfortable in those situations," Snyder said of Kokoskov before Thursday night’s game. "We have a great staff with a lot of people who are really talented. His experience, I think for an assistant in the league is very unique."

Kokoskov, a native of Serbia, has coached in the NBA for 19 years.

Kokoskov joined Snyder's staff in Atlanta in 2023 after previous stints as an assistant with Brooklyn, Dallas, Sacramento, Phoenix, Utah, Cleveland, Detroit and the Los Angeles Clippers.

When hired by the Clippers in 2000, Kokoskov became the first non-American to be hired as a full-time assistant. He spent one season as a head coach, going 19-63 with Phoenix in 2018-19 and getting fired afterward.