Horses, sacrifice and luck: Jesse Wagstaff’s keys to winning

- Written for nbl.com.au by Tom Hersz

This time of the year is all about winning. If you play the right way, you give yourself a chance to win and move one step closer to the ultimate goal of a championship. Few know that better than Jesse Wagstaff.

The veteran of 538 NBL games – including nearly 70 post-season games – has experienced winning more than any other active player. Now the second-most winning player in NBL history, Wagstaff, in his 17^th season, is searching for his seventh NBL title.

The Perth Wildcats advanced through the Play-In Game on Saturday night against a Melbourne United team that were early-season favourites. It wasn’t easy for Perth. After a disappointing showing in the seeding qualifier game on Wednesday against South East Melbourne, they trailed by nine points at halftime against United, and all the momentum was against them.

But something clicked, especially defensively for Perth. They held Melbourne to just 24 second-half points, going on to win comfortably by 18 points and advance to the semifinals against the Sydney Kings. That says a lot about their group and their ability to withstand adversity, and Wagstaff agrees.

“Firstly, I have the utmost respect for United, and how they go about their business, and for a large portion of the season, especially early, they were the hottest team in the league,” Wagstaff told NBL Media on Monday.

“So, to come out and just do that defensively and to hold a team like that to 24, I thought that was incredible. Especially at that point in the season and with so much on the line. So, hugely impressive, I think.”

This season’s Wildcats team is very different from the NBL25 version that narrowly lost its Playoff Series. They’ve had to find a new identity without Bryce Cotton, integrate several new faces, and get on the same page.

As a result, it took time to come together, which meant they were battling for much of the season to earn a top-four finish. But they had homecourt in a win-or-go-home Play-In scenario against Melbourne, and they came through at home when it mattered.

Did they breathe a sigh of relief after that win, or do they feel like they’re where they’re supposed to be, in the Playoffs, and can focus on the task ahead against Sydney?

“I’m not sure, to be honest,” admitted Wagstaff.

“You’re just always trying to stay alive, right? And so, obviously, that was a do-or-die game, and the reality is if we’d lost, we would have gone home. So, we’re still kind of in control of our own destiny in a way.

“We’re still alive, and it’s the Finals, and we’re into the Playoffs. If you win a three-game series, all of a sudden you’re in the Championship Series, and anything can happen. We’re still alive, still battling and seeing how long we can go.”

In winning that game, Wagstaff moved into second place all-time in NBL games won by a player with his 338^th career win. That puts him one ahead of the great Leroy Loggins (337), and this season Wagstaff has also surpassed legends of the game in Andrew Gaze and Mark Bradtke (330), as well as James Crawford and CJ Bruton (332).

In passing Gaze, Wagstaff became the winningest one-club player in NBL history, and in overall wins, now only trails Tony Ronaldson, who is 92 wins ahead with 430.

It’s an amazing accolade for Wagstaff that he wasn’t aware of.

“It’s kinda cool. I actually had no idea,” he explained.

“Mark Arena texted me yesterday, actually and just said ‘congrats’, and that was the first time I’d heard of it.

“You mentioned some of those names, and I didn’t watch much basketball growing up, but those names – even if I didn’t play basketball – they’re kind of synonymous with Australian basketball. It’s a huge honour.

“But that’s also a testament to Bear’s [Ronaldson] longevity and success to be that far ahead of everyone.”

Anyone who knows Wagstaff knows that he’s a pretty humble guy. He’ll credit his teammates and coaches before himself for his success. He’ll say that his ability to win consistently is less about himself and more about those around him, and there is something to that. But he’s also played a pretty big role in helping his teams over the years to maximise their ability.

He'll never admit that, though.

“I’ll say it because I think it deserves repeating, I don’t think you can stick around for as long as I have if you don’t win games, and you don’t win games unless you have great coaches and great players, and people.

“The organisation, the front office, has been huge. A successful club on and off the court. But then you don’t win games without really good players and people around you.

“So, I’m certainly reaping the benefits of playing alongside some greats. Everyone has been asking about BC [Cotton] this year, and I’ve said it a number of times that I’m forever in a guy like BC’s debt. We won a lot with him, and the reality is I don’t stick around if we’re not winning, and he was a huge part of us winning.

“So, I’m kind of in debt to all those players who’ve helped this club win. And to be a part of that, I consider it a privilege.”

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But there are plenty of great players who don’t win. What makes a great talent also a winner? What makes someone who is a role player have the ability to drive their teammates to do better? To achieve more?

In some professional sports circles, they talk about “the secret”. That secret sauce that leads to winning teams. Given Wagstaff has been to the post-season in all but one of his 17th seasons and has walked away with a championship on six occasions, he must have some idea of what that secret sauce requires.

“Oh, that’s a huge question,” he acknowledged.

“I do think it starts with good people and good players. The reality of this league is that it gets better every year, and the talent is just getting better and better. So, I think it’s very hard to win without the horses, so to speak. So, that goes a long way.

“I think you need to make sacrifices. You bring so much talent to any team, and not everyone’s going to score 40 a night, and not everyone’s going to get 40 rebounds. It’s about sacrificing for your teammate and finding your role. I think that’s hugely important.

“And to be honest, I know this is going to sound strange, but you also need a lot of luck. If you look at any year in the NBL, there’s always at least one team that is just ravaged by injury, and obviously, you can control that somewhat, in terms of we have a great strength and conditioning staff and performance staff, which mitigates that a lot. But I think often you can get some freak injuries, and it derails your season.

“I certainly think you need some luck as well. I’ve certainly been lucky in that regard.”

Wagstaff has been remarkably healthy through his career, playing in at least 25 games in all but one season. Whether that is luck or more about how he’s looked after himself over the years is hard to say.

It doesn’t really matter at this stage, as he and his teammates will come up against a well-rested Sydney Kings team that finished as the regular season champions. The Kings haven’t played a game since February 20, but will go into this series as heavy favourites over Perth.

The Kings beat the Wildcats three times out of three during the regular season, winning by an average margin of 23 points, with the oddsmakers saying a 2-0 sweep is the most likely outcome.

Wagstaff doesn’t pay much attention to that, and who is the favourite or who is the underdog is not something he has discussed with his teammates.

“I don’t know what the bookies are saying, but the fact of the matter is they probably should be favourites,” Wagstaff said.

“They beat us three times, right? They’re a very good basketball team, let’s get that straight. They’ve been playing really good basketball, obviously well coached with Goorj [Brian Goorjian], and they’ve got the horses as well. The second half of the season, they’ve been playing phenomenally.

“In saying that, I think we’re also comfortable in who we are. And it’s Playoffs, right? This is why you play professional basketball and why you want to be around at this time of year: to give yourself a chance to put yourself in a Championship Series.

“I don’t think anyone’s scared or anything like that. We’re just excited to get out there and compete, and give ourselves the best shot.”

Sydney is the second-highest scoring team in NBL26, which will prove a challenge. But Perth have actually allowed the fewest points per game in the league this season. That defensive ability was on full display against Melbourne on Saturday night, and that is where the Wildcats can compete.

They’ll also have to control the boards and try to limit their turnovers, as Sydney is one of the best this season at forcing mistakes and turning defence into offence. The Kings led NBL26 in both offensive and defensive rating.

“As I said, they’re playing really good basketball,” said Wagstaff.

“But we are comfortable with who we are. Hopefully that kind of defensive effort and performance [can] carry over from the second half against Melbourne. They [Sydney] can really score the ball in bunches cos they’ve got so much talent, and they run some good systems.

“So, hopefully that defensive nous will show its head again against Sydney and limit their scoring, but we’ve got to put points on the board as well. It’s not just at the defensive end; it’s a two-way game. So, we’ll see.”

And Wagstaff will play his part to ensure that the right tone is set on both ends of the floor; something he’s done his whole career.

At 39 years of age, he is still such a valuable role player to this team. Whether it’s moving the ball, hitting an open three, boxing out, trying to draw a charge, or just being vocal on the floor, Wagstaff has been known to swing games with his energy and ability to make winning plays. But his role is his role, and he’s very comfortable with it.

“To be honest, I don’t think it’s changed much in 17 years, right? I’ve kind of done the same thing,” he admitted.

“I’m probably lucky that I’ve never relied on my athleticism, and I’m slowing down a bit, but I wasn’t starting at a lightning-fast pace anyway.

“It’s somewhat strange, because at the same time it [his role] really hasn’t [changed]. I’ve always come off the bench, and my role and what I do can change game by game. It depends on what the team needs.

“We have some very talented players, and often it’s just to try to get them involved or do something for your teammate and see where it lands you. So, nothing much will change, and it shouldn’t at this stage of the year.”

Wagstaff gets asked all the time whether he’ll go around one more year in NBL27. He told me recently that the decision is well above his pay grade. And that may be the case, but his body is feeling good, and he’s still very much a key rotation piece for John Rillie.

What he can say is that he is still very much enjoying his basketball in season 17.

“Look, I love it. I think it’s one of the greatest jobs in the world,” he said.

“In saying that, I’ve never really been married to basketball per se. I didn’t really grow up playing it as a kid, but I think it’s a pretty good job where I can come out and compete and play basketball for a living.

“My body feels great. I never really play too much in the off-season. I’ve taken care of my body well, I think. Some of it is luck, but you add to the fact that I’ve never been particularly athletic in the first place, so I don’t have to rely on that, [which] is probably advantageous as well.

“But I enjoy it, and running around with 20-year-olds helps keep me young somewhat.”

So, can we mark him down for one more year then?

“Haha, as I said, it’s probably above my pay grade. But I do really enjoy it, and I consider myself very fortunate to be able to still play basketball for so long.”

Wagstaff will look for career win number 339 when the Perth Wildcats face the Sydney Kings at Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday night in Game 1 of their Playoff Series.