It’s not very often that Jordi Hunter is the smallest person in the room.
Standing six-foot-ten, the Sydney King’s rising star is a dominant force on the court, viciously protecting the paint on one end of the floor, and attacking it with gusto on the other. He has the motor to outwork his opponents, the talent to outplay them, and the size to overpower them. To put it bluntly, there are few big men that can size up to him.
Except when it comes to Luc Longley. A stalwart of Australian basketball, a mentorship from Longley would be prized by just about any basketball player. But as Hunter puts it, Longley’s appeal doesn’t come from any sort of star power. Instead, it’s his deeply human approach to life, and his appreciation of the world outside of basketball. With Longley measuring seven-foot-two, Hunter looks up to him in more than one way.
“Our relationship is great, we’re kind of just good friends at this point, which is nice. I don’t think he would hang around me as much if there wasn’t this kindred spirit thing going on. We just speak the same language and see the world in a similar way,” Hunter said.
Hunter was recently featured in Luc Longley’s Australian Story episode, One Giant Leap, shown playing a game of backgammon with the Chicago Bulls legend, and sharing what could be considered basketball-adjacent banter. Longley asks Hunter if he feels pressure playing basketball being named after arguably the greatest player of all time. However, it’s clear to anyone who watched the documentary who Longley’s favourite Jordan actually is. According to Hunter, the level of appreciation is definitely a two-way street.
“It was remarkable just how much I was getting out of small interactions with him,” Hunter noted, aware that he was under the tutelage of one of the greats.
“We would work out for 20 minutes and then chat for 20 minutes and it felt like I’d levelled up, like I'd spent a year on the job or something. The efficiency of learning was pretty remarkable, It's been something I never could have imagined and I’ve been really fortunate to have that relationship grow.”
Talking about the recent documentary, Hunter is glad that Longley had the opportunity to have his moment, especially considering the lack of inclusion that he was given by last year's The Last Dance, a ten part series on the 1998 Championship winning Chicago Bulls, which inexplicably failed to feature their starting centre.
“Knowing him well, when The Last Dance came around, it was a huge bummer seeing how much they shafted him,” Hunter said.
“I think it was just nice for everyone to see that there's this really gentle spirit within this guy who’s had such an extraordinary basketball career.”
This idea of having two identities, one on the court and one off the court, is something Hunter says he deeply relates to. Many of his struggles early in his career came from trying to reconcile both of these mindsets, and it was Longley who was one of the first people to show him that the path to success was to stay true to who he was.
“The reason we get on so well is that he was the first person who stopped trying to squash who I was as a person so I would be a different basketball player, for him that was a similar experience.”
With this change of mindset came a career year for Hunter, as he became an integral part of a depleted Kings team desperately clawing their way towards an NBL finals berth. Hunter averaged 9 points and 6.3 rebounds for the Kings, and was a finalist for the NBL’s Most Improved Player award.
The Kings ended up missing that spot, losing out on points differential to the South-East Melbourne Phoenix. This was an admirable feat, considering the Kings were without the services of Didi Louzada, Dejan Vasiljevic, Angus Glover, and Xavier Cooks had only just returned to the lineup. Huner said he was fortunate to learn from Kings then-coach Adam Forde, as well as numerous past and present leadership figures within the Kings organisation.
“I was fortunate that [Adam Forde] gave me the opportunity, I feel like the preparation I did with Fordey and [Will Weaver] and James Duncan the year before and Luke of course, and the leadership of some of the players like Kevin Lisch and Andrew Bogut and Daniel Kickert especially, I felt like I was in good stead to make the leap, I probably wasn’t expecting that much opportunity, and fortunately I was given a chance to grow through the season.”
Considering this, Hunter believes that the Kings are primed to return to their rightful place atop the NBL.
“It’s a program that's doing such exciting things, getting to be a part of that I feel very fortunate and hopefully we put together something that we’re all proud of,” Hunter said.
“I have great belief, I know we can get it done, and it’ll just be whether we roll out there with the right attitude and the right approach come season.”
Part of Sydney's finals ambitions will no doubt rest on Jordi having another standout season, and he knows it. This is where his relationship with Luc Longley has also proved invaluable, as his game has been able to elevate with some handy advice.
“I was able to help a lot out of the post this year, and a lot of that was his tutelage, giving me ways to work on that. Any footwork on the court has been him finding ways for me to challenge myself in that department and help me grow,” Hunter said.
But Hunter is also ready to take his game to a place that Longley never dared venture: beyond the three point line.
“A big goal for me will be stretching it out to the three, I try to set goals in all aspects of my life and for basketball it's definitely expanding that offensive vocabulary and being assertive on that end,” Hunter said.
“This year that will be expanding into a lot of opportunities to shoot the three, and use a jumpshot to open up the space behind, and create downhill penetration not just off that pick and roll, but off a pump fake and getting downhill myself.”
If he can find that range with any level of consistency, the sky's the limit for Jordi Hunter. As for his relationship with Luc Longley, it is one that Hunter values immensely, and through his performance both on and off the court, it is clear why. Longley is more than just a coach, or a role model. According to Hunter, he’s a true friend.
“The excuse is that he’s helping me get better at basketball but in reality it's a lot more than that.”
Author:
Jed Wells