All's Wells that ends Wells

10 days after arriving in Australia in a lead assistant role, Mike Wells is now the Adelaide 36ers’ head coach.

Even with 30 years of experience under his belt, including working with six NBA clubs and Team USA, it’s been quite the whirlwind for the veteran coach.

“I’m super excited to be here,” Wells said, during his first media conference at the helm of the 36ers.

Wells fills the void left by the departure of Scott Ninnis on Monday, and says he has incredible respect for a legend of South Australian basketball.

“The guy’s (Ninnis) had an amazing career as a player. He’s been an amazing Sixer,” Wells said.

“I have tremendous respect for everything that he’s done, and I also have a lot of loyalty to the organisation and the management and these players.

“We were working to get to know each other and what the organisation wanted and what Scott wanted, and then things shift.

“Now all of a sudden it’s about what my vision is for this team.”

Wells, who most recently served as an assistant coach at the Charlotte Hornets, said he had already been impressed with the 36ers’ players, opting to keep his first words to them within the “Sixer family”, but quickly getting to work.

“I just love the group. They’ve come in from day one willing to work and I think that’s the best thing, a competitive craving,” he said.

“My veterans have been absolutely fantastic. The young guys are working hard.”

Having not played Finals since 2018, the 36ers are desperate for success. They made significant strides in the back half of last season and will look to continue that growth, boasting one of the most talented starting fives across the NBL.

DJ Vasiljevic, Isaac Humphries, former Sydney champion Jarrell Martin, NBA G League All Rookie Team member Kendric Davis and South Sudanese Olympic representative Sunday Dech round out the first-choice rotation.

“The Sixers’ name on the front of the jersey has got to mean something,” Wells said.

“We’re going to be very organised, we’re going to be very detailed, and we’ll have discipline.

“My job is to move the group forward all the time.

“We want to develop a sustainable system that can grow and we want these guys to be successful.

“I like our player development … we’re going to plant our flag on player development.

“We’ll have a strategic plan for these guys individually, and we’ll really work hard for them.

“I just need them to know that I’ve got their back.”

Wells says he has incredible respect for the league and had long harboured ambitions of returning to Australia to coach, following his time with Team USA at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

“There’s a reason I chose to come to the NBL, which is it is the hottest league in the world,” he added.

“Multiple people I talked to, when I’ve talked about different options, they’ve said ‘go to the NBL’.”

The 36ers will host Brisbane in their first official pre-season game in Mount Gambier on September 4.

Mike Wells' coaching career

Team USA - Head scout, assistant coach

1993-1994 - Mount Vernon Nazarene (assistant)
1994-1999 - Houston Rockets (Intern & Video Coordinator)
1999-2004 - Houston Rockets (assistant)
2004-2005 - Los Angeles Lakers (assistant)
2005-2009 - San Antonio Spurs (assistant)
2009-2011 - Washington Wizards (assistant)
2011-2013- George Mason (assistant)
2013-2014 - South Florida (assistant)
2014-2022 - Utah Jazz (assistant)
2023-2024 - Charlotte Hornets (assistant)