October 3, 2025 • 10 mins
One of New Zealand’s best-ever basketball players is now one of the world’s foremost sporting executives.
Sean Marks was the first person born in New Zealand to play in the NBA, playing for the Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, and Portland Trailblazers.
He also played for our national side, competing in two Olympic Games and was an integral part of the NZ team that finished fourth at the 2002 Fiba World Championship.
In 2016, he took up the role of General Manager for the Brooklyn Nets, which he says he’s been able to get the same buzz from as he did playing when he was younger.
“It comes at different times in your life, and you know, now 50 years old, I would not be getting the same buzz out of playing – I would be getting hurt.”
“But look, I loved, I love the competition.”
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
What a pleasure to welcome in one of our best
ever basketballers and now one of the world's foremost sporting executives.
He was the first New Zealand born player to play
in the NBA and had time with the Toronto Raptors,
the Miami Heat, the San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, New
Orleans Hornets, and Portland Trailblazers. He won the NBA Championship
(00:33):
as a player with San Antonio in two thousand and
five and then as an assistant coach in twenty fourteen.
He played thirty three times for the Tall Blacks, went
to two Olympic Games, and was an integral part of
the New Zealand team that finished fourth at the two
thousand and two Feber World Championship. Since twenty sixteen, he
(00:54):
has been general manager of the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA.
Who else, of course, but Sean Marks. Welcome in, Shawn,
and thank you for joining us across New Zealand this afternoon.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Pleasure great to talk. Thanks Jason.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Start with the upcoming season for the Brooklyn Nets. You
brought in five rookies in the draft. You already had
a young roster, it's probably the youngest in the NBA.
How do you balance success with development?
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Yeah, look, it's a great one. I think we have
to categorize success.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
For us, it's going to be how these young guys
develop over the course of the year. I mean, we're
developing young men both on and off the court. When
you have four nineteen year olds at the draft now
on your roster, that's exciting to me when you sort
of trying to predict what are they going to look
like in a year, two three years down the road
here and what are you putting around them for them
(01:41):
to have success both individually and at that point that's
where team success comes as well. So for us, I
don't know that we're going to be overly wrapped up
in the wins and the losses in the record. I mean,
that's going to be what it is, and hopefully we
can prove a lot of people wrong and where the
pundits have us picked. But at the same time, having
(02:03):
patients and looking down the road at how these young
young men can develop over the next two or three
years is going to be really important for the franchise
as a whole.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Your head coach, Jordy Finnandez is regarded as one of
the best talent nurturers in the NBA, So how can
you best support him as you as you go through
this period.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, look, I.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Think both of us need to have the same vision
for like, you know, how are we going to do this?
I mean, Jordie is incredibly competitive. I think the sweet
equity of the coaching staff for second to none.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
The development has proven over the last year.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
It's certainly an exciting time and a great opportunity for
him to showcase continue to showcase the development of him
and his coaching staffs, but for him to try and
continue to put our players in places to have success, right,
and to support him and realize like, look, you know,
we're building this and it's the goal of us of
the Nets franchise is to have sustainable success. So that's
(02:59):
what we want to do. We don't want to no
knee jerk reactions to how do we win the couple
more games than we maybe should have it, but it
comes to the detriment of long term success here. So
we do have to have a bit of patience, but
at the same time. It's exciting to go out there
and hopefully prove some people wrong.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Do you have a patient ownership group? And I guess
as importantly a patient fan base.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Well, I think from an ownership standpoint, Joe Si is
privy to every conversation and every deal and the trajectory
of the team. He knows exactly what the objective here
and how we're going to do it. You know, I
think being in our fan base in New York specifically,
you know, I would not say that they're exactly patient.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
But I don't think any fans are patient.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
I mean, I think they want to see they want
to see a team making the right strides. They want
to be able to get behind a team playing the
right brand of basketball.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
And I think that's what they're going to see with
the Nets.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
These guys are scrappy, they play hard, they exhibit that
Brooklyn grit, which is what we talk about here, and
if they're playing the right way, and I think our
fan base can see okay, like I can see a
few a couple of future Nets on this roster, and
I can see them building. I think that our fan
base will get behind us. And they've been incredibly great
(04:14):
thus far for not only myself, but for the entire
team and the entire organization.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So you've settled now on a draft and developed strategy
as opposed to a superstar acquisition philosophy.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Well, I think you have to keep all your avenues
wide open because you never know what's going to happen,
you know. I mean, I don't want to predict that
this is how it's going to play out and it's
going to be a long build because I you know,
I'm patient and I want to build patiently, but I
want to build with the right players, and you never
know when those right players are going to come about.
(04:48):
I mean, players can develop sooner and quicker than you
may have expected. But you can also, you know, certain
trades come along quicker and maybe unforeseen at this particular juncture.
So I wouldn't want to predict that we're going to
do a certain thing. And then I think the best
thing we can do is prepare for every thing, but
prepare that ultimately we want to have sustainable success and
(05:10):
ultimately we want to be competing you know, in this
in this market.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
You've been at the Nates for nearly a decade now.
During your time there, you've dealt with some of the
biggest names in the sport Alexa Kariyev and Kevin Durant,
James Harden. How do you deal seoran with such big stars?
Speaker 4 (05:30):
You know, I think with everybody, it's about being honest
and transparent. I think if you can sit there and
have an honest conversation with guys is like how we're
trying to do things. I don't think anybody wants surprises.
I don't like to be surprised, and I don't think
big stars like to be surprised.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
And I think when you're talking.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
About guys like you just did, you know, they're the
ones that you know, their legacy is at stay at stake.
They want to win, and they want to win now,
right And I think that was the timeline of what
we were on then, and we did everything we possibly
could to put out a team and a roster that
was capable of doing just that. You know, our focus
right now is on developing these young men that we
(06:07):
have right here, and that's just as exciting. I mean,
perhaps some different expectations, but the goal here is to
build them up to where this this burrow and this
market is excited to watch the next iteration.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Of the nets Sean, have you been able to get
the same buzz from coaching and now general management as
you did as a basketball player?
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Great question. I think it comes at different times in
your life.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
And you know, at now fifty years old, I would
not be getting the same buzz out of playing. I
would be I'd be getting hurt. So that's that's not
what That's not what I would want to do. But look,
I loved I love competition. I think we're a fiercely
competitive group here as that fits you know, Jordi and
I well, you know, so you want to have that
(06:58):
competitive spirit whether you're playing, whether you're coaching, whether you're
in the front office, and you want all groups to
feel like we're all in sync together. There's nothing worse
than feeling like you're in a silo and it's one
versus an.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
I think we need to be in aligned with ownership.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
We need to be aligned and how we're going to
build this thing and play the right way, the right system,
with the right cast of characters.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
And amongst all the basketball that you played, and it
is a glittering CV. Where does the Tall Blacks fourth
place finish at the World Champs in two thousand and two.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Sit. You know, I've said it several times.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
I think wearing your country's uniform, your jersey and New
Zealand on the front of edges, there's nothing like that.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Is that is top of the top, you know.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
And I, by the way, I loved winning championships with
San Antonio without a doubt.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
But you know, as a young kid and.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
Tor Bay, I don't know that I ever could have predicted,
you know, playing for your country and playing at the
Olympics and playing in the World Champs. So I think
that's that's the of the crop right there, to be
able to say you represent your country as a second.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
To none special group of players. You look at the roster,
just generational talent in there is there a dynamic in
that group which means that if you happen to get
together now, even just with a couple of those guys,
will it just be like old times, you'd slip into
the same conversations.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I'm sure we would. I mean it was a great group.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
I mean we're all still on WhatsApp channels together and
several of them have come through here pretty regularly a visit.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
Which you know, I love.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
You know, we shared, you know, obviously some great, great memories,
some common bonds and so forth, and some memories that
are going to last us us a lifetime together, for sure,
without a doubt.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Earlier this year our junior Tall Blacks were fourth at
the Under nineteen World Cup. Last year our seventeen's fourth
at their World Cup. Are you aware of the new
wave of young Kiwi basketballers coming through?
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I am very aware, actually, and I think that's just
I could not be more proud of of those, you know,
young men and women to be quite frank, that are
presenting the country at all different age groups.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
I think it's.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Inspiring and hopefully and helps inspiring another generation after them
to continue to grow. And you know, guys like Piro
and Kirk and Steven Adams and the guys that have
played over here and or represented the country at the
highest levels, hopefully they inspired this group to you know,
come and come and do better than the ones that
(09:29):
came before them.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
I think that's that's the only thing we can hope.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
For, just to finish. Can you watch a game of
basketball now, just for the pleasure of watching a game
of basketball or not?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
I can probably watch my kids games at that level
but yeah, not not not, not really. If I'm going
to watch a game or something for just the sake
of just mindless TV or something, it's it's probably not basketball.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
It's probably a different sport.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
But I will say I continue to critique those as well.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
It's just it just comes with the territory.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Really appreciate your time, Sean. That's a great pleasure to
catch up. All the best for the the NBA season
ahead with the Brooklyn Nets.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Suis Jackson.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
All the best, mate, Now, all the best to you too, Sewn.
Sean Mark's there, the one and only general manager Brooklyn
Nets and one of our absolute greats when it comes
to basketball and now basketball general management management, one of
our truly one of the foremost sporting executives around the world,
flying the Kiwi flag.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, Listen live
to news Talks b weekends from midday, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Weekend Sport Podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
What a pleasure to welcome in one of our best
ever basketballers and now one of the world's foremost sporting executives.
He was the first New Zealand born player to play
in the NBA and had time with the Toronto Raptors,
the Miami Heat, the San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, New
Orleans Hornets, and Portland Trailblazers. He won the NBA Championship
(00:33):
as a player with San Antonio in two thousand and
five and then as an assistant coach in twenty fourteen.
He played thirty three times for the Tall Blacks, went
to two Olympic Games, and was an integral part of
the New Zealand team that finished fourth at the two
thousand and two Feber World Championship. Since twenty sixteen, he
(00:54):
has been general manager of the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA.
Who else, of course, but Sean Marks. Welcome in, Shawn,
and thank you for joining us across New Zealand this afternoon.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Pleasure great to talk. Thanks Jason.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Start with the upcoming season for the Brooklyn Nets. You
brought in five rookies in the draft. You already had
a young roster, it's probably the youngest in the NBA.
How do you balance success with development?
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Yeah, look, it's a great one. I think we have
to categorize success.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
For us, it's going to be how these young guys
develop over the course of the year. I mean, we're
developing young men both on and off the court. When
you have four nineteen year olds at the draft now
on your roster, that's exciting to me when you sort
of trying to predict what are they going to look
like in a year, two three years down the road
here and what are you putting around them for them
(01:41):
to have success both individually and at that point that's
where team success comes as well. So for us, I
don't know that we're going to be overly wrapped up
in the wins and the losses in the record. I mean,
that's going to be what it is, and hopefully we
can prove a lot of people wrong and where the
pundits have us picked. But at the same time, having
(02:03):
patients and looking down the road at how these young
young men can develop over the next two or three
years is going to be really important for the franchise
as a whole.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Your head coach, Jordy Finnandez is regarded as one of
the best talent nurturers in the NBA, So how can
you best support him as you as you go through
this period.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Yeah, look, I.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Think both of us need to have the same vision
for like, you know, how are we going to do this?
I mean, Jordie is incredibly competitive. I think the sweet
equity of the coaching staff for second to none.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
The development has proven over the last year.
Speaker 4 (02:36):
It's certainly an exciting time and a great opportunity for
him to showcase continue to showcase the development of him
and his coaching staffs, but for him to try and
continue to put our players in places to have success, right,
and to support him and realize like, look, you know,
we're building this and it's the goal of us of
the Nets franchise is to have sustainable success. So that's
(02:59):
what we want to do. We don't want to no
knee jerk reactions to how do we win the couple
more games than we maybe should have it, but it
comes to the detriment of long term success here. So
we do have to have a bit of patience, but
at the same time. It's exciting to go out there
and hopefully prove some people wrong.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Do you have a patient ownership group? And I guess
as importantly a patient fan base.
Speaker 4 (03:22):
Well, I think from an ownership standpoint, Joe Si is
privy to every conversation and every deal and the trajectory
of the team. He knows exactly what the objective here
and how we're going to do it. You know, I
think being in our fan base in New York specifically,
you know, I would not say that they're exactly patient.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
But I don't think any fans are patient.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
I mean, I think they want to see they want
to see a team making the right strides. They want
to be able to get behind a team playing the
right brand of basketball.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
And I think that's what they're going to see with
the Nets.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
These guys are scrappy, they play hard, they exhibit that
Brooklyn grit, which is what we talk about here, and
if they're playing the right way, and I think our
fan base can see okay, like I can see a
few a couple of future Nets on this roster, and
I can see them building. I think that our fan
base will get behind us. And they've been incredibly great
(04:14):
thus far for not only myself, but for the entire
team and the entire organization.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So you've settled now on a draft and developed strategy
as opposed to a superstar acquisition philosophy.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Well, I think you have to keep all your avenues
wide open because you never know what's going to happen,
you know. I mean, I don't want to predict that
this is how it's going to play out and it's
going to be a long build because I you know,
I'm patient and I want to build patiently, but I
want to build with the right players, and you never
know when those right players are going to come about.
(04:48):
I mean, players can develop sooner and quicker than you
may have expected. But you can also, you know, certain
trades come along quicker and maybe unforeseen at this particular juncture.
So I wouldn't want to predict that we're going to
do a certain thing. And then I think the best
thing we can do is prepare for every thing, but
prepare that ultimately we want to have sustainable success and
(05:10):
ultimately we want to be competing you know, in this
in this market.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
You've been at the Nates for nearly a decade now.
During your time there, you've dealt with some of the
biggest names in the sport Alexa Kariyev and Kevin Durant,
James Harden. How do you deal seoran with such big stars?
Speaker 4 (05:30):
You know, I think with everybody, it's about being honest
and transparent. I think if you can sit there and
have an honest conversation with guys is like how we're
trying to do things. I don't think anybody wants surprises.
I don't like to be surprised, and I don't think
big stars like to be surprised.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
And I think when you're talking.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
About guys like you just did, you know, they're the
ones that you know, their legacy is at stay at stake.
They want to win, and they want to win now,
right And I think that was the timeline of what
we were on then, and we did everything we possibly
could to put out a team and a roster that
was capable of doing just that. You know, our focus
right now is on developing these young men that we
(06:07):
have right here, and that's just as exciting. I mean,
perhaps some different expectations, but the goal here is to
build them up to where this this burrow and this
market is excited to watch the next iteration.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
Of the nets Sean, have you been able to get
the same buzz from coaching and now general management as
you did as a basketball player?
Speaker 3 (06:31):
Great question. I think it comes at different times in
your life.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
And you know, at now fifty years old, I would
not be getting the same buzz out of playing. I
would be I'd be getting hurt. So that's that's not
what That's not what I would want to do. But look,
I loved I love competition. I think we're a fiercely
competitive group here as that fits you know, Jordi and
I well, you know, so you want to have that
(06:58):
competitive spirit whether you're playing, whether you're coaching, whether you're
in the front office, and you want all groups to
feel like we're all in sync together. There's nothing worse
than feeling like you're in a silo and it's one
versus an.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
I think we need to be in aligned with ownership.
Speaker 4 (07:16):
We need to be aligned and how we're going to
build this thing and play the right way, the right system,
with the right cast of characters.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
And amongst all the basketball that you played, and it
is a glittering CV. Where does the Tall Blacks fourth
place finish at the World Champs in two thousand and two.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Sit. You know, I've said it several times.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
I think wearing your country's uniform, your jersey and New
Zealand on the front of edges, there's nothing like that.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Is that is top of the top, you know.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
And I, by the way, I loved winning championships with
San Antonio without a doubt.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
But you know, as a young kid and.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
Tor Bay, I don't know that I ever could have predicted,
you know, playing for your country and playing at the
Olympics and playing in the World Champs. So I think
that's that's the of the crop right there, to be
able to say you represent your country as a second.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
To none special group of players. You look at the roster,
just generational talent in there is there a dynamic in
that group which means that if you happen to get
together now, even just with a couple of those guys,
will it just be like old times, you'd slip into
the same conversations.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I'm sure we would. I mean it was a great group.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
I mean we're all still on WhatsApp channels together and
several of them have come through here pretty regularly a visit.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
Which you know, I love.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
You know, we shared, you know, obviously some great, great memories,
some common bonds and so forth, and some memories that
are going to last us us a lifetime together, for sure,
without a doubt.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Earlier this year our junior Tall Blacks were fourth at
the Under nineteen World Cup. Last year our seventeen's fourth
at their World Cup. Are you aware of the new
wave of young Kiwi basketballers coming through?
Speaker 4 (08:56):
I am very aware, actually, and I think that's just
I could not be more proud of of those, you know,
young men and women to be quite frank, that are
presenting the country at all different age groups.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
I think it's.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
Inspiring and hopefully and helps inspiring another generation after them
to continue to grow. And you know, guys like Piro
and Kirk and Steven Adams and the guys that have
played over here and or represented the country at the
highest levels, hopefully they inspired this group to you know,
come and come and do better than the ones that
(09:29):
came before them.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
I think that's that's the only thing we can hope.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
For, just to finish. Can you watch a game of
basketball now, just for the pleasure of watching a game
of basketball or not?
Speaker 4 (09:43):
I can probably watch my kids games at that level
but yeah, not not not, not really. If I'm going
to watch a game or something for just the sake
of just mindless TV or something, it's it's probably not basketball.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
It's probably a different sport.
Speaker 4 (09:57):
But I will say I continue to critique those as well.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
It's just it just comes with the territory.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Really appreciate your time, Sean. That's a great pleasure to
catch up. All the best for the the NBA season
ahead with the Brooklyn Nets.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Suis Jackson.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
All the best, mate, Now, all the best to you too, Sewn.
Sean Mark's there, the one and only general manager Brooklyn
Nets and one of our absolute greats when it comes
to basketball and now basketball general management management, one of
our truly one of the foremost sporting executives around the world,
flying the Kiwi flag.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, Listen live
to news Talks b weekends from midday, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio.
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