Herbert’s blueprint for building a champion

He’s got one of the top resumes in world basketball, and next season, Gordon Herbert will be bringing his talents to the Hungry Jack’s NBL.

Herbert, who has coached in the United States, France, Finland, Austria, Greece and Russia, is the man tasked with taking the New Zealand Breakers back to the NBL summit.

In a recent NBL Now episode, Herbert, who ESPN's Olgun Uluc called as "one of the best signings in NBL history", explained why the 10-team competition is so appealing to him.

“The style of play [in the NBL] was what intrigued me,” Herbert said to Pete Hooley on NBL Now.

“I've coached against Brian Goorjian quite a bit and have watched his teams play a lot.

“I thought the [Championship] Series was excellent basketball.

“I like up-tempo [play], and I like the flow of the game [in the NBL].

“I've also heard great things about the infrastructure around the different teams in the League.”

In particular, the setup and playing core at the Breakers excites Herbert.

“[Coming] to the Breakers, I have my philosophy, but to a certain extent, you’ve got to adjust your philosophy to your players,” he said.

“We have great bookends in Parker [Jackson-Cartwright] and Sam [Mennenga], mixed in with a couple of great signings.

“We’ve got a few more to go, and then I’ll see what our personnel is and adjust my philosophy to that.”

Herbert is eyeing more star power m to join a roster comprising Jackson-Cartwright, Mennenga, Dejan Vasiljevic, Reuben Te Rangi, Carlin Davison, Izayah Le’Afa and Preston Le Gassick.

“We're still looking for one or two locals to fill out the roster, and then we'll kind of see what we need [on the import front],” he said.

“To a certain extent, we have to really find, with two foreign spots open, players that complement what we have already.

“It can be difficult finding the right pieces to the puzzle, but I believe both players have to be strong on the defensive end and complement what we have offensively already.”

>> GET YOUR CODE SPORTS NBL BLITZ TICKETS NOW

Once it all comes together, Herbert is confident the Breakers can be successful during the 2026-27 campaign.

“You need elite individuals [to be successful],” he said.

“I always used to believe there's no I in team, but I do believe there's I in team now. We need the elite individuals to be champions, to win something.

“But before that, you have to create a team mentality, and for me, that's one of our biggest challenges as coaches nowadays, is to create a team mentality with the individuals you have.

“Then those individuals within that team mentality can even become better.”

During the next season, Herbert will also balance his job as the Head Coach of the Canadian men’s national team, who have both the FIBA World Cup and Olympic Games on the horizon.

“You have to balance both, but I wouldn't have done this [Breakers job] if I wasn't one hundred per cent committed,” he said.

“With the timetable for both jobs, it gives me the ability to be one hundred per cent committed on both jobs.

“Once you start taking shortcuts in this job, everybody loses.

“I need the players to be players and staff to be one hundred per cent committed, and if I'm not, I can't expect them to be.”

One of the first opportunities for fans to check out the revamped Breakers outfit will be at September’s CODE Sports NBL Blitz in September, with tickets available here.