Brian Goorjian: An NBL career snapshot

Of that handful of NBL coaches who are seen to be the best of the best, Brian Goorjian is the godfather of the competition’s cohort.

It has just been announced the 70-year-old will return to the NBL as head coach of the Sydney Kings next season, following a two-year absence coaching in Hong Kong and internationally. When he hits the sideline later this year at the start of the new season, his NBL career will have spanned 36 years.

Goorjian’s longevity in the game is unparalleled. He’s coached over 150 games more than any other coach in history - at 803 and counting – but that longevity has also come with an almost unmatched level of success.

He’s won 553 of those games in charge, which gives him a winning percentage of 68.9 per cent. Of those to have coached two games or more in the NBL, only Chase Buford stands above Goorjian with a percentage of 69.1, which he achieved in 735 fewer games than the incoming Kings coach.

Early beginnings
Following an eight-year playing stint with the Melbourne Tigers that saw him play one NBL season, Goorjian moved in to the coaching ranks in 1988 with the Eastside Spectres. The Spectres had recorded an eighth and ninth-placed finish in the seasons prior to Goorjian’s arrival, and although he failed to qualify for Finals in his first two seasons in charge, he led the side to second-placed finished in 1990 and 1991 and suffered a Championship Series defeat to the Wildcats in his final season at the club.

The Spectres’ merger with Southern Melbourne saw Goorjian remain in Melbourne with the newly-formed South East Melbourne Magic – whom he was in charge of for the club’s entire NBL run.

The Magic’s existence started with a bang as Goorjian led them to the 1992 NBL title with a roster that featured current Adelaide head coach Scott Ninnis. That successful season also saw Goorjian win his first NBL Coach of the Year title.

South East Melbourne failed to make another Championship Series until its second title in 1996, however Goorjian led the side to Finals appearances in each of those trophyless seasons.

That 1996 title side featured current South East Melbourne head coach Mike Kelly, who was named the Larry Sengstock Medal winner, however the club tasted Grand Final defeat to Adelaide in 1997 and Melbourne in 1998, before Goorjian remained in charge through another merger, this time between the Magic and North Melbourne Giants.

Brian Goorjian in 1997.

Establishing the legend
Goorjian spent four seasons in charge of the newly-formed Victoria Titans, and defeats in the 1999 and 2000 Grand Finals meant he had suffered defeat in four consecutive title series’. He left the club at the end of the 2002 season, following back-to-back first-place finishes in the regular season to take over the Sydney Kings.

For all of Goorjian’s bad title luck in previous seasons, everything swung his way at the Kings. He took over a team that had finished eighth on the ladder the previous season, and the leadership of Shane Heal and MVP Chris Williams saw the Kings win their first ever title, in Goorjian’s first season in charge.

He was also appointed the first foreign-born coach in Boomers history when he accepted the role in late 2001.

Although stars like Heal and Williams departed the club following the 2003 title, Goorjian’s side backed it up with a second-straight championship In 2004 with a pulsating five-game series against a West Sydney Razorbacks side that featured Perth head coach John Rillie.

Goorjian also led Australia to the 2004 Olympics, where they finished ninth.

The domestic three-peat was completed with a 3-0 series sweep over local rivals Wollongong in 2005. The Kings had three different Finals MVP winners in those three titles, and they came close to an unprecedented four-peat in 2006, however Chris Anstey and the Melbourne Tigers proved too strong.

Jason Smith and Brian Goorjian hoist the 2005 NBL title.

Goorjian remained in charge of the Kings for two more seasons following the club’s four consecutive Grand Final appearances, and made one further title decider in 2008, where they once again lost to the Tigers.

Following his successful six seasons with the Kings, Sydney collapsed and fell out of the NBL just three months after the mutual termination of Goorjian’s contract.

Goorjian returned to Melbourne with the South Dragons, and took over a side that had won just five of 30 games the season prior to finish well adrift at the bottom of the ladder.

In a side led by Mark Worthington and a young Joe Ingles, Goorjian and the Dragons steamrolled the 2009 season to finish top of the ladder with a 22-8 record. They then went on to win the NBL title with a 3-2 series win over local rivals Melbourne.

That Dragons team still remains the only team in NBL history to have won a title in a season immediately after finishing bottom of the ladder.

The 2009 title-winning South Dragons side.

The return
Following the demise of the South Dragons after that 2009 title win, Goorjian took his talents to Asia, and spent time as head coach of Chinese side Dongguan Leopards and assistant coach of the Guangdong Southern Tigers and Xinjiang Flying Tigers.

A return to the NBL beckoned for the six-time champion and six-time Coach of the Year, and after 11 years away from the competition he took charge of the Illawarra Hawks in 2020, while also agreeing to take charge of the Boomers for the second time in his career.

Illawarra hadn’t made the post-season since their Championship Series defeat to Perth under Rob Beveridge in 2017, and had recorded a bottom-placed finish the season prior to Goorjian taking over.

The Hawks managed a third-place finish in NBL21 in Goorjian’s first season in charge, before they finished second in NBL22 with a 19-9 record, making it to the Finals.

Goorjian left to take charge of Hong Kong side Bay Area Dragons in tandem with his Boomers duties, however the Dragons folded in 2023.

He will now take charge of the Sydney Kings for the second time in his career after being announced as the club’s head coach for NBL25, as well as looking to add to his Tokyo Olympic bronze medal with the Boomers at Paris 2024.

Goorjian coaching the Boomers at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Brian Goorjian's NBL career so far:
Eastside Spectres - 1988-1991 (63-44)
South East Melbourne - 1992-1998 (167-58)
Victoria Titans - 1998-2002 (92-47)
Sydney Kings - 2002-2008 (165-61)
South Dragons - 2008-2009 (27-11)
Illawarra Hawks - 2020-2022 (39-29)

6x NBL champion (1992, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009)
6x NBL Coach of the Year (1992, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008, 2009)

Boomers coaching career
2001-2008, 2020-present
1x Olympic Bronze Medal (2021)
1x FIBA Asia Cup (2022)
1x Commonwealth Games Gold Medal (2006)
3x FIBA Oceania Championship (2003, 2005, 2007)