Head coach Jordi Fernández missed Sunday’s matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks at Barclays Center because of illness, leaving the Nets without their lead voice on the sideline. Assistant coach Steve Hetzel stepped in, a familiar role for him after serving as Brooklyn’s Summer League head coach in both 2024 and 2025.
Hetzel joined the Nets’ staff when Fernández arrived and helped install the system last summer while Fernández was with Team Canada for the Olympics, guiding Brooklyn to a 3-2 record before returning this year to lead the franchise’s five first-round picks.
That familiarity made stepping in on Sunday feel far less daunting.
“I hope to have fun with it,” Hetzel said. “Working for Jordi has been some of the most fun I’ve ever had. The way he allows us as a staff to put our imprint on the team and have a voice. So, I feel comfortable speaking to the team directly with the amount that he gives us… I feel very comfortable with his system and stepping in.”
It likely wasn’t how Hetzel imagined getting his first chance to run an NBA team, but the reps are just as valuable for him as they are for the players and he embraced the rare opportunity. He said Fernández tested positive for the flu, though he had no fever and was doing well otherwise.
“He calls himself a specimen,” Hetzel said of Fernández.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the game, Hetzel said his focus was on carrying over Fernández’s core principles of competing hard, playing unselfishly and staying connected. With the Nets 2-2 in their current five-game stretch, he noted they had a chance to finish it with a winning record and that closing it out at 3-2 was the goal.
The Nets typically make assistants inaccessible to the media, so Hetzel was also able to share his first thoughts on the rookies since summer league.
“I think with each one of them, we’ve been very, very pleased with the progress and come like different moments,” Hetzel said. “Going from Ben Saraf at the beginning of the year started at point guard, went to the G League, came back after turning his ankle, got put in the rotation, and played well. Then with Egor [Demin] he started the year on minutes restriction and then worked his way into the starting lineup after plantar fasciitis started to heal up more and more. And he just had this steadiness about him, and he’s continuing to get better and better, especially on the defensive end. He’s got a lot to learn, but he’s improved and taken big steps in that area.”
From there, Hetzel continued to move down the list, highlighting how each rookie has taken a different path.
“Nolan [Traore] spent a lot of time with Long Island, and if you watched his progress down there and the numbers he’s putting up with Long Island and then being inserted into the lineup last game vs. Dallas, you saw a different player than when he played against Houston,” he said. “And then Danny [Wolf] is beginning to come into his own, his playmaking, his shot making is someone that we can play through on that second unit. So, they’ve all had their different moments. Drake [Powell] defensively has been tremendous, someone that can be a primary defender. They’ve all had their ups and downs, as rookie will.”
For a night that came together unexpectedly, Hetzel treated the experience the same way he teaches the rookies to treat theirs: lean on what you’ve learned, trust the work and honor the people who helped put you here.
“I’ll just try to be an extension of Jordi and try to not step outside of the box,” Hetzel said. “We’ve been playing better and better. We’re very happy with how we’ve been playing basketball. The group is much more connected. We’ve been much more competitive, and we want to continue that style.”
