When it comes to coaching, there have been few better in NBA history than San Antonio Spurs legend Gregg Popovich.
“Pop”, as he is affectionately known, won five NBA titles – the last in 2014 – with the legendary Tim Duncan as his on-court pilot, and Australian great Patty Mills sharing in that final victory lap.
So, when it came to the opportunity to lean into Popovich’s so-called “superpower”, new Melbourne United coach Jacob Chance was all ears.
Chance was coaching the Spurs’ G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, this year when Popovich – no longer coaching but still a key, even mystical, figure – visited the change room.
“He spoke to our team before one of the games. He also spoke to the main team before the play-offs,” Chance said of the San Antonio Spurs, who returned to the NBA Finals under new coach Mitch Johnson, falling to the New York Knicks.
“You hear different things, but again, I think his superpower is just how clear he keeps it with the expectations of what it means to be a Spur, and it really just comes back to that – play really hard, play the right way, and be really coachable and a great teammate – and he just holds them to account for that.”
Basketball can be turned into complex game of strategy, but Chance, just 32 and the youngest head coach in the NBL since Shawn Dennis led the now defunct Newcastle Falcons in 1997, has the ability to simplify in-depth analysis, ensuring players and fellow coaches understand what’s needed.
It’s not hard to see why United owners Travis Knipe and Aaron Sansoni, and chief executive Nick Truelson, hold Chance in such high esteem, and legendary coach Brian Goorjian describes him as “elite”.
“It was good and refreshing to see. Like, yeah, as much as this is the most heightened sense of basketball in the world, you know, [the] NBA Finals, you’re still talking about the same things,” Chance said of Popovich’s chat to the NBA Spurs.
“Everyone asked me when I was over there, like, ‘What have you learnt coming over here?’
“It’s the same way you lose basketball games in under-10 Perth games – your Perth girls’ game you’re coaching, or another under-14 boys game in Melbourne you’re coaching, or the Spurs in the NBA Finals or Melbourne United – you will lose for the same reasons. You didn’t get back in transition. You didn’t help each other. You didn’t play the right way. You didn’t play hard enough, and so it was just refreshing to be on the biggest stage, yet we’re still talking about the same thing … [It was] a good learning moment for me.”
‘I think his superpower is just how clear he keeps it with the expectations of what it means to be a Spur … play really hard, play the right way, and be really coachable and a great teammate.’
United coach Jacob Chance on NBA legend Gregg Popovich
Chance’s mantra of “playing the right way” was also reinforced through watching Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama, and the way he prepares, searching for that “one per cent improvement”.
“The talent’s one thing, but just his demeanour and how he approaches the game is pretty special,” Chance said, chatting in his office at Hoops City in Cheltenham.
“Like today, for example, we finish practice at 1 o’clock in the afternoon. We don’t practice again until 10 o’clock on Thursday morning. What are you doing between now and then?
“I think [with] Vic [Wembanyama], the curiosity and the willingness he shows to try and find ways to improve his body and use that time well, I think it really separates him from other guys, so it’s a good one for us.”
Chance, a Perth native, has taken these “learnings” to United, the famous “Spurs Way” clearly strong in his thinking, and even in sight, with Brett Brown, the former NBL championship and Boomers coach and long-time Spurs assistant, dropping by training last month.
The chance to replace three-time NBL championship coach Dean Vickerman as head coach of a marquee NBL club was too good to refuse for Chance, who initially rejected United’s advances before club chiefs circled back with a bigger offer, including the role of head of basketball operations.
Having progressed as a highly respected assistant alongside Trevor Gleeson in Perth, beginning with the Wildcats as an intern in the video room, before joining Scott Roth in Tasmania, then Vickerman at United, and becoming a deputy head coach with the Boomers, Chance, complete with a four-year contract, and fiancée Bree opted to return to Melbourne.
Bree, however, has yet to arrive, the couple having welcomed Beaux, an Aussie Shepherd, into their home before the opportunity to return to Melbourne was presented. Beaux needs to pass testing and quarantine measures before being allowed to get on a plane, and that won’t happen until closer to Christmas.
“It’s a nasty little process, but it’s worth it once we get everyone here,” Chance said.
Meanwhile, there is plenty of work for Chance to do, beginning with the home opener against six-time league most valuable player Bryce Cotton and the Adelaide 36ers on Saturday night.
United have built a championship-level roster – former NBA players Joe Ingles, Cole Anthony, Luke Travers and Josh Oduro joining blue-chip New Zealand big man Sam Waardenburg (from Cairns) in ensuring veteran star Chris Goulding has a chance for another ring. Despite early injury issues, the signs are promising, with United claiming the NBL Blitz pre-season tournament title.
Goulding, entering his 12th season with the franchise, said Chance had impressed through building relationships and his game craft.
“I don’t want to say surprised me, but what’s been really great has been his attention to detail, his intent to get clarity, and how steadfast he is in what he believes in, and what he wants us to do and how he thinks we can be successful in that. He’s steadfast in that,” Goulding said.
Ingles, the NBA and Boomers veteran, is ready after a pre-season calf issue, and has delivered with his intangibles off the court in showing the younger players what is required to succeed at the top level.
Anthony, a former teammate of Ingles with the Orlando Magic, will provide speed and shooting. Perth-product Travers, a former Cleveland Cavalier, will again play multiple roles in his return to the club. Oduro was with the New Orleans Pelicans last season, while Waardenburg is an athletic forward who can shoot from outside.
Late in training on Tuesday, Chance had command of the floor, but turned the session into a ring of feedback once done. He extolled competitiveness, urging his men that “we need you at a level” and to “keep talking to each other”. He pointed out the need for them to look after their bodies, and gave a shout-out to all the coaches and staff for their dedication. The Spurs Way was truly in action.
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.