Some Chances are too good to pass up

With Melbourne United locking in Jacob Chance as head coach for the next four seasons, the appointment marks a full-circle moment after a coaching search that ultimately ended where it began.

“Jacob Chance was the top priority,” ESPN’s Olgun Uluc said on NBL Marketplace, presented by Paywise.

“He was the person United initially tabled an offer to. That offer that he declined initially.

“They circled back to Chance, revised their offer a little bit and they ultimately land someone who’s regarded as one of the best young head coaches in the NBL.”

The 32-year-old spent two seasons as an assistant under Dean Vickerman before taking over as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs’ G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs, where he led the team to a 23-13 record.

“Speaking to people in Melbourne at the time when Dean Vickerman was released, the first name on the whiteboard was Jacob Chance,” Pete Hooley added.

“But they were also thinking that they didn’t want to take him away from his goal, because that’s why he left in the first place.”

Chance’s coaching journey has been nothing short of remarkable. He began as a video coach under Trevor Gleeson at the Perth Wildcats before earning a promotion to assistant coach. From there, he joined the Tasmania JackJumpers as associate head coach under Scott Roth, before making the move to Melbourne United and, eventually, the NBA pathway.

“From what I understand, speaking to people around the NBL, people within the Spurs … they were like ‘hey, don’t leave, we really like you here. You are part of this pathway and you’re going to continue to climb this ladder,” Uluc added.

“I think that was one of the things that played a role in him initially declining.”

When Chance coaches his first NBL game this season, he will become the youngest head coach in the league since Shawn Dennis, who was 31 when he took over at Newcastle in 1997.

“We can’t stress enough how important of a signing this is, not just for the NBL to get an Australian coach into the ranks, but for Melbourne United to get one of the up and coming, rising coaches in Australia,” Uluc said.

“It’s a really big moment, because his story of where he’s come from to becoming one of the most well respected voices at such a young age is truly incredible,” Hooley added.

“You don’t just fall into these roles by accident; he’s earned every bit of it.”