Breakers Assistant Accepts Job Offer from Breakers' Icon Mika Vukona

Sky Sport Breakers’ Assistant Coach Daniel Sokolovsky has only been in the country for four months – but already he has done enough to impress one of the icons of New Zealand basketball in Mika Vukona.

Vukona, who was part of all four Breakers’ championship rosters, and retired with a record 354 appearances for the club, has named Sokolovsky the Head Coach of the Franklin Bulls for the 2023 NZ NBL.

It is Vukona’s first appointment in his new role as the General Manager of the Bulls.  It has been met with enormous enthusiasm inside the Breakers’ Mairangi Bay Headquarters.

“To have Mika’s support to lead the team in his first year as General Manager is an incredible honour,” says Sokolovsky.

“Coming from Europe, I am familiar with his status in the game, playing for the Tall Blacks and the Breakers.

Sokolovsky studied at Columbia University in New York, becoming an assistant coach for the men’s program before moving to Russia for two years assisting the Parma Perm squad in the VTB United League. 

His coaching experience worldwide is extensive, with stints in China CBA, the Israeli Premier League and the German BBL, before landing his first head coaching job in Slovakia for BKM Lucenec, taking the team to the Finals. 

This raw talent saw him recruited by Mody Maor at the Sky Sport NZ Breakers. 

“Mika reached out to many people around our team, including Tom Abercrombie and Rob Loe, players he has played with, and after positive feedback, they felt comfortable moving forward with me as Head Coach.”

“To get an endorsement from someone of his standing in New Zealand basketball really means something.”

29-year-old Sokolovky hopes his commitment with the Bulls in 2023, and the solid reputation he is developing at the Breakers, will convince owner Matt Walsh to extend his one-year deal at the kiwi club. 

“The New Zealand Breakers are a special organisation and one I’m proud to be part of right now,” he says.

“To see the young talent South Auckland and Franklin has to offer and growing that, developing that and maybe providing them with a pathway to the Breakers is something I’m looking forward to doing in the NZ NBL.”

Breakers Head Coach Mody Maor is excited about what lies ahead for his assistant.

“Daniel’s appointment, first and foremost, is a great appointment for the Franklin Bulls,” says Maor.

“This is not Daniel’s first rodeo; he has been a Head Coach before in Europe.

“The idea that there is this huge chasm between assistant coaching and head coaching is false.

“Any experience Daniel gains as a head coach will make him a better assistant and vice versa.

“He has a real part in how the Breakers are playing right now, and you will see a transference of that to the Franklin Bulls.”