Weaver's history earns him right to lead Bullets

Will Weaver has coached one season in the NBL and can consider himself unlucky to not have a Championship ring. 

That ill-fated conclusion to NBL20 - brought to a halt by a global pandemic - saw him stripped of his opportunity to secure silverware with the Sydney Kings at the first time of asking.

But he arrives in Brisbane with a deeper coaching toolkit and an equally insatiable appetite for success; the Bullets have made a statement in securing his services.

His eye for detail makes him the ideal incumbent for the President of Basketball Operations role, whilst his coaching acumen speaks for itself.

There are a lot of ticks in his favour as he takes on his new job, not least his head coaching experience in the league.

Under his guidance, the Kings finished as regular season champions with a 20-8 record in 2019/20. They swept past Melbourne United before facing Perth Wildcats in the grand final.

The Kings ultimately lost two of the three games that were played. Both defeats came at Qudos Bank Arena, with Games 2 and 3 played without a crowd in attendance due to lockdown.

The best-of-five series was cut short, and it will be forever a great unknown how the series could have panned out had it gone the distance.

That ends up being immaterial, but Weaver did prove how he can adapt his coaching to bring success - an ability crafted across two decades in the game.

Even while still at college himself at the University of Texas, he was part of the coaching staff for the Longhorns from 2006-10. After completing his bachelor's degree in Philosophy and master's in Kinesiology, his coaching career started taking off.

Remaining in his home state of Texas, he was assistant coach at Sam Houston State University for two years. That's when the NBA opened their doors to him, starting with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Across three seasons, Weaver moved up the ranks from Video Coordinator to Basketball Operations Assistant, and then a Special Assistant Coach to Brett Brown – former coach of the Boomers.

Weaver followed suit internationally, being named as Assistant Coach of Australia in 2014, a role he carried through to 2018.

The Brooklyn Nets came calling for the 2016/17 NBA season. He spent two years there under Head Coach Kenny Atkinson before earning his first chance to coach a team in his own right.

He remained under the Brooklyn banner with the G League affiliate the Long Island Nets, garnering immediate success. He guided the team to the G League Finals in 2019 and won G League Coach of the Year.

After his spell at the Kings, he was back to the NBA with two seasons with the Houston Rockets, before another head coaching opportunity with Paris Basketball, where he secured a Quarter Finals berth in the Euro League.

Opportunities at the Nets and at the Charlotte Hornets followed, the latter as Coaching Innovation Advisor - the role he currently occupies.

Across 20 years in multiple environments, countries and continents, Weaver has developed a skillset to take the Bullets forward. 

Whilst victory can not be guaranteed, effort and endeavour can, and no stone will be left unturned in the pursuit of success in Brisbane. 

The appointment offers cause for optimism as the Club takes its first steps towards NBL27 and beyond.