Source: Radio New Zealand
Gordon Herbert will coach the NZ Breakers on a two-year deal. CYRIL LESTAGE
The New Zealand Breakers’ search for a new head coach has landed the NBL club a Basketball World Cup winner in Gordon Herbert.
Herbert has signed a two-year deal with the Auckland club in what is considered to be the biggest coaching appointment in the history of the club.
The 67-year-old is currently the coach of Canada’s national team, a role he will continue alongside Breakers duties, but guided Germany to a gold medal at the 2023 World Cup.
Herbert joins the Breakers, to replace Petteri Koponen, after being Bayern Munich’s head coach in the EuroLeague for the 2024-25 season. He left in a mutually beneficial parting of ways in December. The club was on an eight game losing streak when Herbert left.
Herbert has previously coached around the world, in the NBA as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors, and head coach roles with Alba Berlin, s.Oliver Würzburg, Paris Basket Racing and Aris.
Getting Herbert’s signature was reportedly touch and go but the club that finished the NBL in seventh place last season got it over the line.
“Gordon is a world-class strategist with a proven track record of winning at the highest possible level,” Breakers president of basketball operations 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.”
Herbert’s tenure with Germany is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaching runs in modern Fiba history, culminating in an undefeated run to claim the World Cup gold. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, he guided the team to a top-four finish.
“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,” Herbert said.
Breakers owner Marc Mitchell said Herbert “has proven he can deliver championship winning, high-performance teams”.
“When the club started this process, we committed to searching the globe to find one of the world’s best to lead the BNZ Breakers. We are thrilled to get someone of Gordie’s calibre to join us in New Zealand and lead us on the court.”
Herbert will take the reins of a roster already boasting marquee talent, including Sam Mennenga, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, DJ Vasiljevic and Kouat Noi.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/20/basketball-breakers-eventually-get-champion-coach-gordon-herbert/