DETROIT — Jordan Ott gets the occasional moment where he steps into an arena or a place from his past and it clicks in his head that it’s special to be there in his current role.
He doesn’t get to savor them for too long as it’s typically just ahead of his Phoenix Suns team playing in a matchup.
The first-time head coach spent nine years as an NBA assistant, but now runs the show in Phoenix.
And as he arrived in Detroit earlier this week, it was significant to be back to an area that really kicked off his career when he worked under coach Tom Izzo at Michigan State from 2008-2013.
“It’s kind of where it all started,” Ott told reporters ahead of Thursday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons. “Pretty cool to be back in this building.”
Ott’s been to Little Caesars Arena plenty of times with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets as an assistant.
His first shot at registering a win as coach didn’t go to plan as the Pistons came back from a 16-point deficit and beat his squad, playing without Michigan native Devin Booker.
But the experience was unique for Ott and the organization with so many ties to the state and the Spartans.
The team went to dinner at Suns’ owner Mat Ishbia’s house Wednesday night after practicing at his alma mater, Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Michigan, earlier in the day.
Ishbia and Phoenix general manager Brian Gregory are MSU graduates, as well. Gregory was an assistant coach under Izzo while Ishbia was a walk-on player. Legendary MSU captain and former Pistons first-round draft pick Mateen Cleaves is also on the Phoenix player development team as an assistant.
Even though Ott’s time at MSU was as a graduate assistant and eventually video coordinator, it helped shape his future as a coach in the NBA.
“I’m just blessed and grateful that that’s where I started,” Ott said. “You don’t really have a ton of choice in where you start or where you first get your opportunity, you’re just trying to get in the door. To be (at Michigan State), to be in that program, I was lucky.
“I was lucky there, lucky in multiple spots in the NBA, being around really good people that have since progressed and were respected in the business helps you get to your next spot. I got lucky to start here. I had really good years, really good teams.”
Ott was part of a stretch of MSU teams that made the four Sweet Sixteens, two Final Fours and one trip to the national title game.
The 40-year-old coach has credited Izzo for helping instill the value in relating to players and building genuine connections that’s carried him throughout his career.
That’s been a staple of the Michigan State program during Izzo’s 31 seasons in charge and it’s something that Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff can already tell Ott is excelling at.
“Credit to him, obviously, credit to his background, where he comes from, Michigan State, understanding Coach Izzo, how they teach, how they coach,” Bickerstaff said. “It appears to me, and I’m not in there, but the relationships that he’s built with the guys, quickly you can tell that they’re playing for him. That’s the most important thing, is to get the guys, especially elite-level guys to buy in to what you’re selling, so to speak.”
The Suns are 24-17 at the midway point of Ott’s first season, currently sitting in a play-in spot for the postseason just a half game out of sixth in the Western Conference. They’ve done so with guard Grayson Allen missing 18 games and former No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green being absent for all but two games so far.
Ott and the Suns won’t return to Detroit again this season — barring a meeting in the NBA Finals — but the connections will remain until they return next season.
One thing’s for sure, it always makes Ott happy to check in and see that Izzo is still running things at Michigan State and leading it to success while he carves his own path.
“I’m very fortunate to still have relationships after all these years, and proud that the school is still good and Izzo is still there,” Ott said. “I think it’s a lot of luck (I’m here), and I’m incredibly grateful.”