NBL: Mody Maor quits as NZ Breakers coach to take up deal in Japan

Breakers head coach Mody Maor will not return for the 2024-25 season. Photo / Getty Images

The New Zealand Breakers have confirmed the departure of coach Mody Maor.

The club have reluctantly allowed Maor a release with a year remaining on his contract after he received an offer from Asia.

At the critical point between seasons, the Breakers are still far from having assembled their roster for 2024-25 and are now faced with the prospect of securing a new head coach as well.

It has been reported that Maor is finalising a two-year deal to become the new head coach of Nagasaki Velca in Japan’s B League. With a young family, the 38-year-old decided it was an offer he could not turn down.

Breakers’ chief executive Lisa Edser said Maor leaves with the club’s blessing and will forever be part of the Breakers’ family because of his enormous contribution to the club.

“Mody’s international reputation is at an all-time high after what he has done at the Breakers, and he is now one of the most highly sought coaches in the world,” Edser said.

“We have always been a family first club, and Mody is forever part of the Breakers family, but we understand the reality of his putting his wife and two little children first with this opportunity.”

Edser said the players, including star import Parker Jackson-Cartwright, have been told and support Maor’s rationale for moving on.

She said the club has plenty of time to find the best replacement.

“Our season has only just ended, and the first practice for the next season is still three months away,” she said. “The Breakers is one of the most coveted coaching jobs outside the NBA.

“There are many great candidates, and we will take the time we have to identify the right person to lead the team forward to give us the best opportunity to win the championship next season.”

Maor joined the New Zealand club as an assistant to then-coach Dan Shamir in 2019 and after assuming the head coaching role in 2022, he took the Breakers from wooden spooners to beaten grand finalists in 2023, losing a deciding game five to the Sydney Kings.

A shocking run of injuries last season prevented a similar run but Maor and the Breakers still made the post-season and were narrowly beaten by the Illawarra Hawks in the play-in.

Maor was confident the players signed for the new season would rally around the new coach and continue the proud Breakers’ legacy.

“I have spoken to all the players, and they are confident, as I am, that management will put an incredible coach in place,” Maor said.

“Continuing the legacy of this historic club, living in one of the best cities in the world and playing in the best home court the NBL has to offer are just some of the reasons players have decided to join the Breakers during this offseason, chief amongst all of them, is that they get to experience Breaker Nation first hand.

“To our fans, I am forever grateful for your love and support; we have shared some of the most memorable moments of my life together. There’s no more remarkable experience than a game day at Spark Arena.

“I’m really going to miss it and miss you all.”