Petteri Koponen moves to the NBL league as head coach of the New Zealand Breakers. The title of head coach is the first in the 36-year-old Kopose’s career.
Finnish basketball legend Petteri Koponen36, will take over as head coach of the New Zealand Breakers, reports ESPN. The club confirmed Koponen’s contract today, Thursday on their website.
Koponen replaces Mody Maori, who unexpectedly left the Breakers during the training season to pursue a spot in Asia. The Israeli-American Maor subsequently signed a two-year contract with Nagasaki Velka of the Japanese B-League.
According to ESPN, Koponen was the Breakers’ first choice from the beginning of the coaching process. At least there were other candidates Trevor Gleeson and worked as Maori’s assistant coach at Breakers Daniel Sokolovsky.
Australian Gleeson, 56, coached the Perth Wildcats to five Australian NBL championships between 2014 and 2020. Nowadays, he is an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA.
The New Zealand Breakers play in the NBL league as the only New Zealand team. In addition, nine teams from Australia play in the league.
Koponen has signed a two-year contract with the Breakers. The club has an option for the third year.
In the club’s press release, Kopo is described as a star head coach of the future.
Owner of the Breakers Matt Walsh says the club is lucky to have signed someone recognized as one of the best young coaches in the world.
– The position of head coach of the BNZ Breakers is one of the most sought-after positions in basketball outside of the NBA, and in the last month there has been an amazing interest in our team, Walsh paints.
– My goal was to find the best coach to lead the Breakers and I am very confident that we have found the right person for the job.
Walsh describes that being the head coach of the Breakers comes with a lot of responsibility, so the club conducted a comprehensive search that included coaches from around the world – including former NBA head coaches.
– Petteri was an incredible player who has transitioned seamlessly into coaching and shares my vision of growing basketball in New Zealand.
Koponen will arrive in New Zealand at the end of the month. First, he works in the coaching staff of the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA summer league.
Walsh believes that Koposen’s invitation to the summer league will also raise his esteem among Breakers fans.
The Breakers have won the NBL championship four times: 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015.
In the season that ended, the Breakers were sixth in the regular season and lost in the play-in round of the playoffs, i.e. the playoff qualifier.
The NBL regular season starts in September and ends in February. The playoffs are played in February-March.
Koponen ended his playing career in 2022 and has since worked, among other things, in the coaching of HBA-Märsky.
As a player, Koponen represented, among others, Virtus Bologna, Himki BK, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich in Europe’s top leagues.
Koponen never played in the NBA, but recently his NBA rights were traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the New York Knicks at a booking event.
– It’s an honor to be a Knick, but I’m still going to honor my commitment with the Spurs. Of course, a financially ridiculous offer can change things. I have a new hip! I’m ready, Koponen joked at the time.