Mikko Riipinen


Mikko Kari Johannes Riipinen is a Swedish–Finnish basketball coach and a former player. He is currently working as the head coach of German Bundesliga team Riesen Ludwigsburg and the Sweden national team.

Early life

Riipinen was born in Norway to Finnish parents, a mother from Turku and father from Kuopio. At the age of one, he moved to Norrköping, Sweden, with his mother where his grandmother was living.

Career

Riipinen played basketball as a point guard for his hometown club Norrköping Dolphins between 2003 and 2012.
After retiring as a player, he started his coaching career with the Dolphins in the club's B team in 2015. During 2019–2025, he served as the head coach of the club's first team in Swedish Basketball League. He led the team to win four consecutive Swedish championships between 2021 and 2024. They also won two Swedish Basketball Cups in 2023 and 2024.
In 2021, he started coaching the Sweden men's national basketball team. They qualified for the EuroBasket 2025 final tournament, after a twelve-year absence. Riipinen coached the team to advance from the group phase and to reach the round of 16.
On 15 January 2025, he was named head coach of BG Göttingen in the Basketball Bundesliga.
For the 2025–26 season, he joins Bundesliga team Riesen Ludwigsburg as the new head coach.

Personal life

Though being raised in Sweden, Riipinen visited Finland frequently while growing up to meet his paternal grandparents and spoke Finnish with them. He holds a dual citizenship. He acquired the Swedish passport when aged 16, when he was selected to play for the Sweden U16 national team.