Cody Toppert Named Head Coach of Capital City Go-Go
By Capital City Go-Go Staff /September 21, 2023
Toppert Becomes Fourth Head Coach in Go-Go History
WASHINGTON, DC – The Capital City Go-Go, the NBA G League affiliate of the Washington Wizards, announced today that Cody Toppert has been named the fourth head coach in Capital City Go-Go history.
“The synergy that exists between the Go-Go and the Wizards is incredibly important, and Cody will be instrumental in the management of that process,” said Monumental Basketball President Michael Winger. “We will have a major emphasis on player development across both teams and Cody’s experience and expertise will push us forward in that area.”
Toppert joins Capital City after serving as an assistant men’s basketball coach at LSU last season and for the University of Memphis from 2019-22. Toppert also has experience coaching on the professional level, serving as an assistant coach and director of player development for the Phoenix Suns during the 2018-19 season after stints in the NBA G League as head coach of the Northern Arizona Suns (2017-18) and assistant coach for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2015-17).
“My family and I are thrilled and grateful to join the Go-Go and the Monumental Basketball family,” said Toppert. “I look forward to developing young players in the Wizards’ organization and enhancing the great success the Go-Go have achieved in recent years. I’d like to thank Will Dawkins and Amber Nichols for entrusting me with this great responsibility. The progressive and process-driven approach to development the organization is building aligns perfectly with my core beliefs and I am excited to get started.”
Toppert arrives to D.C. with a proven record of player development at both the collegiate and professional levels. With both LSU and Memphis, Toppert oversaw the teams’ player development program, helping the Tigers reach the NCAA tournament in 2022 for the first time since 2014 after winning the NIT Championship in 2021. During his four years at the collegiate level, Toppert coached five NBA draft picks and was named to The Athletic’s prestigious 40 under 40 list of Rising Stars in college basketball. During his time with the Suns organization, Toppert was instrumental in the development of the team’s young core including Devin Booker, who averaged then career-highs in points (26.6 ppg, 7th in NBA) and assists (6.8 apg, 14th in NBA) and Mikal Bridges, who became the first Suns rookie to top 100+ threes and 100+ steals in a season. While head coach of the Northern Arizona Suns, Toppert helped five players earn NBA call-ups, the most for any franchise in the 2018-19 season.
“Cody brings an innovative mindset and energetic approach garnered from his variety of experiences that will aid the development of our players and contribute to the standard of excellence of Monumental Basketball,” said Go-Go General Manager Amber Nichols.
Toppert played professionally with his hometown Albuquerque Thunderbirds, earning an NBA D-League Championship in 2006. He then spent eight seasons playing overseas in New Zealand, Portugal, Germany, Spain, and Italy before starting his coaching career in 2015. As a four-year starter at Cornell, Toppert finished his collegiate career ranked first in school history in three-pointers made (237) and ninth on the school’s all-time scoring list (1,232).