Gordon Herbert’s path to the Breakers spans the globe

The New Zealand Breakers made one of their biggest coaching announcements on Wednesday, unveiling Gordon Herbert as the man to lead the club moving forward.

Before agreeing to the multi-year deal with the Breakers, Herbert has built up one of the strongest basketball resumes in world hoops.

Born and raised in Penticton, British Columbia, this is where Herbert’s love for the sport grew. He progressed through the playing ranks in Canada, before attending both North Idaho College and the University of Idaho.

After five years in college, Herbert moved to Hyvinkää, Finland, in 1982, to play for Hyvinkään Tahko. This was followed by stints with Turun NMKY, Forssan Koripojat, Helsingin NMKY and Korihait, across his 12-year playing career.

During his playing days, Herbert also represented Canada at the 1984 Olympic Games and 1986 FIBA World Championships.

In 1994, Herbert transitioned into coaching, taking the reins at Korihait in Uusikaupunki, before moving to Espoon Honka in 1996.

The now 67-year-old then moved to Austria for a season with Oberwart Gunners, which was followed by one year with German outfit, s.Oliver Würzburg. He then joined Frankfurt Skyliners, who he guided to the German League title in 2004.

During his time with the Skyliners, he also led the franchise to their third German League Finals appearance.

More success followed when Herbert moved to France, guiding Élan Béarnais Pau-Orthez to the 2006–07 French Cup, following a stint with Paris Basket Racing. A season with Greek club Aris followed before Herbert became a Toronto Raptors assistant coach for the 2008–09 NBA season.

After his time in the United States, Herbert returned to Espoon Honka and guided them to the 2009 Finnish Cup. He then coached Skyliners Frankfurt and Alba Berlin in 2010–11 and 2011–12 respectively, before returning to the former in 2013.

During his third stint with the Skyliners (which ran through to 2020), he guided the club to the 2016 FIBA Europe Cup and was named the Bundesliga Coach of the Year.

After departing Germany, Herbert coached in Russia for a season with Avtodor in the VTB United League. That was short-lived, as Herbert then returned to Germany to coach their men’s national team.

His success transferred to the international arena, with Herbert guiding Germany to the bronze medal at the 2022 European Championships and then gold at the 2023 World Cup. These accomplishments saw him named 2023 Coach of the Year in Germany and 2024 Coach of the Year in Finland.

Following the 2024 Olympic Games with Germany, Herbert returned to club land and took control of Bayern Munich, which competed in both the Bundesliga and EuroLeague.

In 2025, Herbert returned to the international arena after being appointed head coach of its Canadian men's national team ahead of the 2027 FIBA World Cup and 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“We, as coaches, want players who want to make an investment in themselves who want to be better,” Herbert said via the Basketball Coaching Conversations podcast.

“[With each new role] we start with the end in mind. What’s our long term goal? I have players set this ... they discuss, we talk about it, and we come up with our long-term goal.

“I don’t tell them what our goal is. I want them to decide what our goal is, they’ll set higher goals.

“And now I can always come back to them and challenge them, ‘You set this goal. And the stuff you’re doing off the floor or on the floor doesn’t go to this goal.’ Then we set performance goals, which are measurable.”

Now Herbert will look to bring that philosophy to the NBL with the Breakers, while also balancing his commitments with the Canadian team, headlined by two-time reigning NBA MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

With the Breakers, Herbert will have a roster that features Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Sam Mennenga, Dejan Vasiljevic, Reuben Te Rangi, Carlin Davison, Izayah Le’Afa and Preston Le Gassick.