How basketball’s power agent Daniel Moldovan rose to become an NBL — and NBA — kingmaker
He’s vice-president of the agency that counts Steph Curry among its talent, he led Josh Giddey to the NBA and he has a huge say in NBL free agency. So who is Daniel Moldovan?
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One of the most influential player agents in Australian basketball is cruising down California’s famous Interstate 405 from Los Angeles when he answers the phone.
Daniel Moldovan’s just had lunch with client and NBL free agent Isaac Humphries in Beverly Hills and is on his way to his home in California’s affluent Orange County — its scenic coast and beaches a constant reminder of his upbringing spent on the sand and in the waters of Sydney’s stunning beaches Bondi, Tamarama and Bronte.
The vice president of global agency Octagon — which counts NBA royalty in Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo among its clients — represents more than 20 NBL players, with several more on the way to the Aussie league next season.
“It’s a busy time and it’s impossible to please everybody so, unfortunately, you’ve got to let down some people, but it’s always nice to make some of these kids’ dreams come true,” Moldovan said.
“The rookies signing their first contracts and there are some important moves that take place with the veteran players, so it’s all a bit of a balancing act.
“There’s no real off switch. I’m essentially always on and my phone is ringing 24-7. There’s always at least one time zone attacking my phone.”
Moldovan, who has helped young Aussie stars Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels become instant millionaires as they navigate their way through the NBA and brokered a long-overdue big-league contract for Xavier Cooks, is the NBL’s king maker.
“The crux of our job is travelling the world, seeing great basketball games and watching guys who we are very much intertwined with every step of their career achieving great things on and off the court,” he said.
“It’s a really cool thing to be able to say that’s what I do for a living.”
He’s already struck the biggest blow of this year’s free agency with big fish Keanu Pinder signing a lucrative two-year deal to cross from Cairns to his home-state Perth Wildcats.
Coveted free agents DJ Hogg, Justin Simon, Humphries and Luke Travers — who has decided to leave Perth — are among those he is charged with plotting the next steps and negotiating new contracts and he’s already found homes for young guns Lachlan Olbrich (Illawarra) and Flynn Cameron (Melbourne United) as they begin their professional careers.
Getting started: The Kings, the commish and Goorj’s gift
While swimming was his first love — Moldovan trained under former Australian Olympic coach Brian Sutton — his father’s friendship with ex-Sydney owner Mike Wrublewski meant basketball — and the Kings — were a constant.
Wrublewski would set off a chain reaction that made Moldovan the first Australian to work in the NBA when then-league commissioner David Stern, at the Kings’ owner’s urging, emailed the teenager with a job offer.
Head-hunted by trailblazing agency Entersport, Moldovan later went out on his own as Lighthouse Sports Management, before the union with Octagon in 2021.
Moldovan vividly remembers his first step into the world of player management — and how legendary coach Brian Goorjian gave him a leg up.
“I was handed two future Olympians by Brian Goorjian,” he remembers, with a laugh.
“I was so new to this industry, I had no idea.
“I called Goorj and said “what the hell do I do?”
“He told me to meet him outside the Alexandria Basketball Stadium.
“I was sitting in the little park next to the Sydney Comets’ basketball court and Goorj walks outside with a very young Mark Worthington and David Barlow and sat the boys down and said ‘guys, I’m sure you’ve seen Daniel around, this is Daniel. Daniel, this is Mark and David. Guys, Daniel’s your new agent’.”
Barlow, who is tipped to join Melbourne United’s coaching staff next season, would win five NBL titles and go to two Olympics. Worthington, returning to the court in NBL1 at 40, has an NBL ring and was part of the same 2008 and 2012 Boomers teams.
“They made me look really good, even while I was faking it — they were so successful on the court that it made it look like I knew what I was doing,” Moldovan laughed.
Family, faith, my people and the water
Moldovan and wife Jordan dote over 5-year-old Siena, who was born in the same Newport Beach delivery room as Kobe Bryant’s daughters.
“If I’m not watching basketball games in my downtime, I am watching episodes of Bluey with my daughter and making sure that, even though she has an American accent, she is well-versed in Australian culture,” he said.
Culture and faith run deep: A modern Orthodox Jew who is involved in many charitable ventures, Moldovan has organised Giddey’s dad, Warwick Giddey, to coach a team of girls who will go to Israel in July to compete in the Maccabi Games.
“I’m a proud family man, proud Australian and proud Jew. Those things are the constants — basketball is all the stuff on the outside,” he said.
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Originally published as How basketball’s power agent Daniel Moldovan rose to become an NBL — and NBA — kingmaker
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