Since 2008, Rob Paternostro has been the heartbeat of Leicester Riders. Seventeen trophies. Seven Coach of the Year awards. Nearly two decades at the helm. Under his watch, Leicester haven’t just won—they’ve known who they are at every step.
Now they’ve added another to their trophy haul.
But nothing about this year was easy. Leicester rode their starters harder than any other team in the league—not by choice, but by necessity. The bench stayed quiet. The rotation stayed tight. Game after game, the Riders leaned on the same core, asking them to be steady, precise, and unshakeable.
Behind the calm, the cracks were always there. Leicester are still carrying a Covid loan. They don’t spend like the league’s newer powerhouses. While others expand, experiment, push outward, the Riders stay close to what they know. They survive through memory—through habit, repetition, and the same man on the sideline who’s seen it all before.
That’s what made this Leicester title different. It wasn’t dominance. It wasn’t depth. It was resilience. Built slowly, held tightly, and carried home by a team that simply refused to fall apart.
Every Piece Fit
Leicester didn’t win with star power. They won with fit.
Charles Thompson arrived as a rookie and quickly became the league’s best rim protector—not just altering shots, but shaping entire possessions. Jaylin Hunter brought steadiness at the point, turning every trip down the floor into a deliberate act. And then Zach Jackson returned from Japan—not for headlines, but to steady the ship. A player who knows Paternostro basketball like a second language. Jackson didn’t just play, he showed the newcomers how to belong.
It was a team built without margin. Every piece had to work. Every role had to hold. And somehow, every one of them did.
Elite at the Margins
Dean Oliver’s ‘Four Factors‘ of basketball—shooting efficiency, turnover rate, offensive rebounding, and free throw rate—are the foundation of every top-tier offence. Leicester didn’t just excel in one factor. They finished top three in all four—and led the league in composite offensive score.
Defensively, they were just as precise. The Riders sent opponents to the free throw line less than any team in the league.
This kind of balance doesn’t happen by accident. It speaks to smart shot selection, clean possessions, and collective discipline. Leicester don’t overwhelm you. They chip away—efficient, well-drilled, and hard to disrupt.
It’s not flashy, but it works—basketball built on habits, awareness, and trust. Hallmarks of a coach who knows exactly what he wants from every possession.
The Cost of Continuity
No team leaned more heavily on its starters than Leicester. It was a choice that spoke to chemistry, rhythm, and trust. But it also revealed a team with little room to experiment.
Nowhere was that clearer than with Victor Ndoukou. A gifted British prospect lighting up NBL1, Ndoukou spent the season mostly watching. In a year where every minute counted, the decision was understandable. But it spoke volumes too.
Leicester didn’t chase upside. They chased certainty. And it worked. But the long-term question of what comes after Rob still lingers.
Eye of the Storm
While chaos swirled around the league, Rob Paternostro kept Leicester steady, composed, and always moving forward. It wasn’t a title won through firepower. It was won through familiarity—on knowing what works and trusting it to carry you when the pressure builds.
It didn’t fix Leicester’s bigger questions—about youth, about depth, about how long this model can last. But it reminded everyone that structure still matters. Belief still matters. And in a league chasing what’s next, there’s still room for a team that knows who it is.
When everything around you shifts, sometimes the team that holds its shape the longest is the one left standing.
