Gordon Herbert has been named coach of the Breakers. Photo / AFP
The New Zealand Breakers have pulled off a massive coup by securing experienced coach Gordon Herbert on a two-year deal, as first reported by Newstalk ZB.
He replaces Petteri Koponen, who parted ways with the Auckland-based franchise in February after two years in the role.
Herbert has been without a team since leaving German club Bayern Munich in December, although he has remained in charge of Canada’s national men’s team, which he will continue to coach alongside the Breakers.
“I am incredibly excited to join the Breakers,” Herbert said. “This is a club with a prestigious history and a clear ambition for the future. We want to play a fast-paced style of basketball that delivers winning results.”
The Breakers had attempted to sign Judd Flavell and Mody Maor, before turning their attention to Herbert.
The two parties had been negotiating for some time. Earlier, it appeared a deal wouldn’t happen, but an agreement has eventually been reached.
Herbert, 67, is a Canadian-Finnish dual citizen. He coached the German national side to their first-ever Fiba World Cup title in 2023.
He has also plied his trade in the NBA (as an assistant coach with Toronto), France (Paris Basket Racing and Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez), Finland (Korihait and Espoon Honka), Austria (Oberwart Gunners), Greece (Aris) and Russia (Avtodor).
“Gordon is a world-class strategist with a proven track record of winning at the highest possible level,” Breakers president of basketball Dillon Boucher said.
“His international pedigree and ability to manage elite talent perfectly align with our vision to compete at the highest level in the NBL and represent New Zealand on the world stage.”
Speaking to Newstalk ZB, Boucher said the process for signing the new coach was long and exciting.
“We were very fortunate to have some outstanding candidates put their names forward for this role, and none bigger than Gordie and obviously, my eyes lit up when the opportunity to be able to land a coach of his calibre [arrived].
“So the conversation started and certainly, we’ve been working through it for some time, but pleased to be able to wake up this morning to a signed contract in my inbox.”
As Herbert also coaches Canada, that was something Boucher said the Breakers were trying to understand as to how that will work on both ends.
“We’ve had previous head coaches and assistant coaches that have been involved with national teams, half of our team plays in those windows anyway.
“So we’ve always been probably the most affected by the Fiba windows, so we’re very adverse to be able to control how you use those windows to be able to continue getting better, but also at the same time have players and coaches missing.
“So it’s a space to navigate, but we’ve certainly done it previously and know we can do it moving forward as well.”
Boucher was confident that this signing could go down as one of the biggest moments in NBL history.
“How often do you get a World Cup-winning coach in any sport coaching any team in this country?
“It’s very rare and especially in a global sport like basketball.
“I think this is a massive, massive signing for the sport, for the club, for the league.”
The Breakers have been active assembling their roster, re-signing centre Sam Mennenga, securing shooter Preston Le Gassick, and bringing in NBL championship duo Dejan Vasiljevic and Kouat Noi.
They join import Parker Jackson-Cartwright, and Tall Blacks duo Ruben Te Rangi and Izayah Le’Afa, who were already under contract.
Contracted Breakers players for the 2026-27 season: Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Sam Mennenga, Reuben Te Rangi, Izayah Le’afa, Dejan Vasiljevic, Preston Le Gassick, Kouat Noi.