Perfect fit for experienced Finnish coach

The Finnish connection to the NBL continues at the Brisbane Bullets in NBL27 with the arrival of assistant coach Hanno Möttölä, who brings a wealth of experience and couldn’t be more excited to be part of the league.

Möttölä - who recently turned 50 - was born in Helsinki but moved to the United States to attend the University of Utah, where he was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame three years ago.

Drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 2000, the imposing power forward went on to play 154 NBA games before returning to Europe to finish his playing career across Spain, Italy, Russia, Lithuania and Greece, before eventually returning home to Finland.

Since hanging up the boots, coaching has become his focus, including a decade spent at Helsinki Basketball Academy (HBA), Finland’s equivalent of the Australian Centre of Excellence.

Using the CoE as a benchmark, the Finnish Basketball Federation established the HBA in 2012 to develop the country’s next generation of talent. During his time there, Möttölä coached current Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen, alongside several other members of the Finnish national team.

Having previously spent time in Australia to familiarise himself with the NBL, the move to Brisbane wasn’t entirely unfamiliar territory. However, finding the right next role meant balancing his professional ambitions with his family commitments and his position with the Canadian national team.

With wife Ulla, 10-year-old son Tatu and adult children Onni and Enni back home, Möttölä was keen to find an opportunity that wouldn’t keep him away from his family for too long. The length of the NBL season proved to be an ideal fit.

The Bullets role also allows Möttölä to continue as an assistant coach with Team Canada under head coach Gordie Herbert, who also coaches the New Zealand Breakers. Just as importantly, it offered him the chance to be part of what Will Weaver is building in Brisbane.

"Petteri (Koponen, Breakers coach for the past two seasons) asked me to join him, but the timing wasn’t right a couple of years ago. Now, I was really looking for something that works with having two more years with the Canadian national team through to the LA Olympics," Möttölä said.

"So I was looking for something that would fit my personal life situation and also basketball-wise. I got into conversations with Will somewhere around March or April and one thing led to another, and then our goals all seemed to meet each other, and that's why I'm here.

"I'm really happy about it, and it's a tough decision with my family back home, but my wife and the youngest one just visited here for a couple of weeks, and hopefully everyone will be back for Christmas.

"It's a great once-in-a-lifetime experience, and so far it's been nothing but positive."

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Wanting to be part of NBL

Möttölä has long been a fan of Australian basketball and the NBL from afar, a connection strengthened by his time at the University of Utah alongside Andrew Bogut, the former NBA No. 1 draft pick, NBA champion and current Sydney Kings assistant coach.

A couple of years ago, Möttölä had the opportunity to experience Australian basketball firsthand, spending time with the Centre of Excellence and several NBL clubs. The experience left a lasting impression, and he knew it was a league he wanted to return to and be part of in a more official capacity.

"I've always been a big fan of Australian basketball. Starting in 2019, I got to know Peter Lonergan pretty well. Peter has been a great source of knowledge and a mentor in many ways," Möttölä said.

"I was planning a trip to come here, and then the pandemic came, but in 2024 I got to do that and was here for a bit of a working holiday for a month.

"I came here and visited the CoE in Canberra, and I was with United in Melbourne for a week and with the Sydney Kings for a week.

"So I kind of toured and learned a little bit more about Australian coaching and all that, so it always stuck in my head that this would be a great league to learn in and be part of."

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Going together with Team Canada role

Another key consideration for Möttölä when weighing up his next coaching move was finding a role that would allow him to continue as an assistant coach with the Canadian national team.

Having committed to that role through to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, Möttölä needed a club that would understand his international commitments. It was a similar consideration for Canadian Head Coach Gordie Herbert before he accepted his role with the New Zealand Breakers.

The NBL calendar provides the ideal balance, allowing Möttölä to fully commit to the Bullets throughout the season before joining Canada for FIBA windows and focusing on his international role during the off-season.

With Will Weaver having previously coached the Australian Boomers, as well as spending years as an assistant coach, Möttölä knew he would have the support and understanding needed to balance both roles.

"In the first conversations with Will, I said that I would only go somewhere that would understand that I had my commitments with the Canadian national team," Möttölä said.

"But Will understands that anytime a coach goes away to be part of something like that, he comes back a better coach and can bring something in when he returns.

"And obviously, in Australia, where the national team is such a big part of the Australian basketball culture and people are so proud of, it's nothing new to have to work with that.

"It's a little longer flights for me from here, although in this next window me and Gordie almost have local games because we're only going to Argentina and Uruguay. Those are short flights compared to the last window when I flew back from Canada for a day and a half.

"But still being able to do that was a big part of coming here and obviously I've been part of the Finnish national program for the last seven years at the men's level, and also I was looking for a new challenge.

"I wanted to go somewhere I needed to prove myself and show that I could do it, and bring something to the table, and I think that's what I can do both in the Canadian national program and here in Brisbane."

Happy with where he's at

While Möttölä is open to furthering his coaching career and wouldn’t be opposed to accepting head coaching positions in the future, right now he isn’t looking for anything different.

The combination of still getting to see his family, coaching in the NBL with the Bullets and preparing for World Cup and Olympic campaigns with Canada is a perfect fit for him.

"You have to kind of take things as they come and I always believe in the saying that good things happen to good people, and I'd like to see myself as a pretty good, honest and trustworthy guy," Möttölä said.

"I know what the next two years will look like with Canada and we have big plans here in Brisbane this season which has all my attention now other than that 10 days in November and February when I go back to be with Canada again.

"If other opportunities present, I would look at those but I've just turned 50 and my wife and I travelled the US and Europe for 13 years in my basketball career.

"So I'm not looking to just take any opportunities, that's why I was very careful in accepting this role and everything all matched up perfectly.

"European seasons can go for 10 and-a-half months so it's a whole lot different coaching in Europe until the end of June if your family is back home.

"Obviously you want to be the best at your craft, but I'm not actively hunting head coaching opportunities – I'm very happy with what I'm doing right now.

"I'm a family man and we do things as a family and it would have to be something pretty special for our family to move abroad for long term."

A family summer Christmas

Möttölä is already looking forward to his family coming back to visit to experience a summer Christmas in Australia.

"It was nice weather here two weeks ago when my wife and our youngest one were here so I think they're looking forward to coming back for Christmas time," Möttölä said.

"It also gives me some time to explore the city and surrounding areas a bit more which you don't really do when you're by yourself. When you have your family come in, you get out of your apartment a lot more and go and do things, which is great.

"That's where Will is great too and he understands because he's brought his family to the other side of the world to be here, and he knows if your family isn't feeling good that will affect how you can perform in your job as well.

"If I was a 25-year-old basketball junkie coach with no kids, that's a different deal, but I've been there and done that living abroad for a lot of years as a player and coach.

"I'm not looking for new adventures, but this opportunities came about and everything really matched with what I was looking for and hopefully the organisation feels that I'm worth of the job that I'm presently doing too."