An Eastern Conference team that grinded out a seven-game series win against the New York Knicks. A Western Conference team that more or less breezed through the competition en route to its second NBA finals appearance in three years. Two shooting guards vying to be crowned the best player in the NBA, competing to bring a championship to their city. The 1992 NBA finals.<\/p>\n
This series was the first playoff battle that Buncik remembers, which caused him to fall in love with the sport. His admiration for a particular coach was rooted in the back of his mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a kid or a teenager, I was a huge Scotty Pippen and Michael Jordan<\/a> fan. Phil Jackson<\/a> was running the triangle, but I wasn\u2019t consciously thinking about that,\u201d said Buncik. \u201cI guess subconsciously, and wanting to be a coach, I essentially looked up to [Phil Jackson].\u201d<\/p>\n Phil Jackson won 11 NBA Championships in 20 seasons.<\/p>\n !!!<\/p>\n People forget how great he was. <\/p>\n He had a unique ability to help superstars put their egos aside and be bought into a system. pic.twitter.com\/7EkAxupyZ3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jacob Espinoza (@MrJacobEspi) August 15, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Education\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Buncik attended Castleberry High School in Fort Worth, TX, excelling in history and social studies. He graduated in 2002 and began his first phase of life away from home; well, kind of.<\/p>\n \u201cI chose the University of Texas Arlington, simply because it was right down the road from my parents\u2019 house,\u201d Buncik said. \u201cAt first, I just wanted to be a high school coach. I wanted to become a high school P.E. teacher and coach on the side. My goal wasn\u2019t to coach in the WNBA, or to coach professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n He completed four years of education, receiving a bachelor\u2019s degree in kinesiology and a minor in pedagogy \u2014 the closest combination of degrees to help achieve his goal.<\/p>\n Setting the Stage for a Coaching Career<\/strong><\/p>\n Even the most prominent basketball coaches have experienced modest starts before achieving legendary status. Greg Popovich and Pat Summit both started their journeys as \u201cball-boys\u201d \u00a0before rising to the pinnacle of the sport. During his time at UTA, Buncik would follow the same path, becoming the manager of the men\u2019s basketball team.<\/p>\n \u201cI absolutely loved it. I did it for two-and-a-half years,\u201d Buncik said. \u201cThe biggest thing that I took from it was that I had to do everything. Doing the laundry, I cleaned the floor, and I helped at practice with the players. You know, a lot of successful basketball coaches started doing just that. They weren\u2019t the best basketball players, so they started as video guys or managers.\u201d<\/p>\n At the age of 22, shortly after graduation, Buncik connected with Scott Cross, the head coach of the UTA men\u2019s basketball team. Cross introduced him to a local high school coach, with whom Buncik would land an interview.<\/p>\n \u201cThey went a different direction with the teaching field,\u201d Buncik said. \u201cSo I went back up to the University to thank [Scott Cross] for getting me set up for an interview. This was probably early August. He just said, \u2018Hey, do you want to become a graduate assistant (G.A.) for us?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a quick two-week turnaround. That\u2019s really when the whole basketball coaching [came to fruition].\u201d<\/p>\n Climbing the Coaching Ladder<\/p>\n In the span of three years, Buncik transitioned from G.A., to the video guy, to director of operations, and finally to the full-time assistant for UTA.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was fast and exciting,\u201d Buncik said. \u201cI didn\u2019t really notice at the time, but you go through every step of the ladder. It goes back to when I was a manager. I just did everything at my best, and when stuff hit the fan, I knew how to fix it and where to go, which was always beneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n Working for Scott Cross for nearly a decade, Buncik was heavily influenced by his presence and being around him every day. Buncik was also influenced by Greg Young, who is now an assistant to Buzz Williams at the University of Maryland.<\/p>\n The coaches developed at UT Arlington often went on to secure better coaching positions elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cI would also include Andrae Patterson<\/a>, who\u2019s now the assistant general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers,\u201d Buncik said. \u201c[Patterson] gave me a perspective of being a player and switching to coaching, and that transition. In college, I was with them all the time. They all gave me a different perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n A Blessing in Disguise<\/strong><\/p>\n After spending nearly a decade at the University of Texas-Arlington, the team would go a different direction and move on from Buncik. It came as a surprise to everyone who was involved with the organization, as the entire staff was relieved of their duties.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were really good, but we got let go,\u201d Buncik said. \u201cSo I had to figure out what I was going to do. I tried to get back into college coaching, but it\u2019s hard to get jobs. So I started my own development program. I really got to refine that, doing that 100 percent of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n Back against the wall and out of complete necessity, Buncik launched his player development program.<\/p>\n His new business went very smoothly. Since he had already built those needed connections in the college basketball space, Buncik had the leg up when it came to fostering relationships with AAU coaches and players.<\/p>\n \u201cI worked with Harrison Ingram<\/a>, who\u2019s now a player for the San Antonio Spurs, and a bunch of overseas guys,\u201d Buncik said. \u201cMy program worked well through COVID, since Texas kept its doors open for the most part. Most players would come to Texas to work out.\u201d<\/p>\n The Dallas Wings\u2019 players would practice and play at the UT Arlington building; soon, Buncik would benefit from this exposure, particularly from a promising young star in the league.<\/p>\n \u201cArike [Ogunbowale] had just been drafted, and at the end of her first year in Dallas, I would cross paths with her,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was in town, and she kind of just popped into the gym where I was working out, and we started working out together. She was comfortable there, and we kind of just grew and grew together.\u201d<\/p>\n First Shot in the League and a Promotion<\/strong><\/p>\n Buncik gained the opportunity to work out with several Wings players who were sent to him for rehab and training. After the team posted a tumultuous 18-38 record over two seasons, Dallas underwent a complete makeover and would hire Vickie Johnson<\/a> as the new head coach.<\/p>\n During this time, Buncik continued his work with the players, and Johnson soon opened up a new player development position.<\/p>\n \u201cArike and Isabelle Harrison<\/a> and those players had been with me in the offseason, and they just kept on giving a good word on me. Johnson gave me the chance to do it in Dallas, as a player development coach.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Johnson led the team to the playoffs in consecutive years, since each ended in an early exit, the Wings believed that they needed more to fulfill their championship aspirations. After just two years with Johnson at the helm, Dallas replaced her with Latricia Trammel to take the reins of the up-and-coming team.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m grateful for [Trammel] because she gave me my first opportunity to be a front-of-the-bench assistant in the league,\u201d Buncik said. \u201cLuckily, I watch a lot of film and take this very seriously, and work on my craft a lot. [After my promotion], I was presenting not only to the scouts, but also to the head coach. I was doing less player development and more scouting.\u201d<\/p>\n Minor Setback Lead to New Opportunity<\/strong><\/p>\n The Wings would get off to an amazing start in their first season behind Trammel (2023). The team finished with its best record since relocating to Dallas, won a playoff series for the first time since 2009, and post the third-best offense in the league.<\/p>\n However, injuries would riddle Dallas\u2019 second season with Trammell \u2014 the Wings would fall back into lottery position with a 9-31 record. The Wings endured another makeover of their staff, and Buncik was left contemplating what to do next.<\/p>\n He ended up working as an assistant coach with Team Vinyl BC in the Unrivaled league.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know what my future held at that point,\u201d Buncik said. \u201cThat was the main reason I got involved with Unrivaled. It was a good avenue to stay connected with people. So I got the Unrivaled assistant job.\u201d<\/p>\n Still searching for a full-time job, Buncik reached out to Raegan Pebley<\/a>, the Sparks\u2019 general manager, and asked about the staff. Pebley passed his information along to Lynne Roberts, the Sparks\u2019 head coach.<\/p>\n \u201cLynne called me five days before Christmas last year, and she offered me a job as an assistant. It was a new city, first time away from the Metroplex, but I was super thankful for it. I probably took the biggest leap as a coach this year, learning from Lynne Roberts.\u201d<\/p>\n I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all the kind messages I have received regarding my new position with the LA Sparks. Thank you to everyone who took the time to call, text, or message me! <\/p>\n I cannot wait to get the 2025 season started! pic.twitter.com\/NXkEqrPeGP<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Zak Buncik (@CoachBuncik) January 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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Buncik with Sparks Head Coach Lynne Roberts and guard Kelsey Plum<\/p>\n