New Zealand men's national basketball team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see New Zealand women's national basketball team.

The New Zealand men's national basketball team (Māori: Te kapa poitūkohu o Aotearoa) represents New Zealand in international basketball competitions. The team is governed by Basketball New Zealand. The team's official nickname is the Tall Blacks (Māori: Pango Tāroaroa).^[2] The (Tall Blacks) name is one of many New Zealand national team nicknames related to the All Blacks.

New Zealand

FIBA ranking	21 (1 March 2024)^[1]
Joined FIBA	1951
FIBA zone	FIBA Oceania
National federation	Basketball New Zealand
Coach	Pero Cameron
Nickname(s)	Tall Blacks
Olympic Games
Appearances	2
Medals	None
FIBA World Cup
Appearances	7
Medals	None
FIBA Asia Cup
Appearances	2
Medals	Bronze: (2022)
FIBA Oceania Championship
Appearances	22
Medals	Gold: (1999, 2001, 2009) Silver: (1971, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2015)
Home Away
First international
New Zealand 56–91 Australia  (Auckland, New Zealand; 7 August 1971)
Biggest win
New Zealand 136–41 New Caledonia  (Wellington, New Zealand; 1 September 1997)
Biggest defeat
New Zealand 59–115 Australia  (Christchurch, New Zealand; 4 September 1987)

Over their history, New Zealand has won three FIBA Oceania Championships, while also making seven appearances at the FIBA World Cup, and two at the Olympic Games. The team has made two appearances at the FIBA Asia Cup, with their best result being their bronze medal finish in 2022.

Haka

The Tall Blacks perform a traditional Haka (Māori challenge) before every game, influenced by Pāora Winitana and Paul Henare.

History

There is a long and storied history of basketball in New Zealand, here is a brief glimpse.

1986 FIBA World Championship

The Tall Blacks took part in 1986 tourney staged in Spain. Placed in Group D, finishing with a 1–4 record (13th overall), picking up a 77–75 win over Malaysia.

1999 Oceania Championship

Beating Guam 125-43, the Tall Blacks qualified for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

2000 Sydney Olympic Games

Finishing 11th with a 1–6 record, the Tall Blaacks picked up a win against Angola (70–60) in their first ever appearance at the Summer Games. Playing in Group A against the US, Italy, China, Latvija and France.

Sean Marks finished the Tourny with 13 ppg (Points) and 7.3 rpg (Rebounds, 2nd) with a game high 21 points vs. Latvija. Pero Cameron finished the Tourny 2nd in Steals (1.7spg) and also picked up a game high (4) steals vs. Latvija.

2001 Oceania Championship

The Tall Blacks wiped out Australia, in a three-game series 2-1 to qualify for the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, United States.

2002 FIBA World Championship

Held in Indianapolis, The Tall Blacks stormed out of Group D into the 2nd round with a 2-1 record. Beating China and Russia but suffering a loss to the US.

Finding themselves in the 1/4 finals against Puerto Rico, They picked up the win 65-63, before losing the semifinal to Serbia and Montenegro 89-87.

Playing for the Bronze medal against Germany they lost 117-94 ending with a 4-5 record. To date this has been their best finish at a World Cup / World Championships.

Tall Blacks captain Pero Cameron was the only non-NBA player named to the All-Tournament team in Indianapolis.

Phil Jones was listed as 9th best scorer at 19.2 ppg

2004 Athens Olympics

Held in Athens Greece, playing Italy, China, Serbia and Montenegro, Argentina and Spain - The Tall Blacks finished with a 1–5 record defeated the then reigning 2002 FIBA World Championship gold medalists, Serbia and Montenegro, 90–87.

In the play off for 9th position they lost to Australia 98-80 finishing 10th.

Phil Jones (Points) with 21ppg finished 2nd. Mark Dickel (Assists) with 4.5 apg finished 3rd. Dillion Boucher (Steals) with 1.8 spg finished 5th.

2006 FIBA World Championship

Held in Japan, the Tall Blacks were not to repeat their fourth-place finish from 2002. After an 0–3 start, the Tall Blacks rallied into the second round, with two straight wins to close out the group stage. However, they would fall in the round of 16 to the defending Olympic gold medalists Argentina, 79–62. After that disappointment, Tab Baldwin resigned as the head coach of the Tall Blacks, and was replaced by Nenad Vučinić, his longtime assistant coach.

2009 Oceanica Championship

New Zealand once again defeated Australia to Qualify for the 2010 World Championship to be held in Türkiye.

2010 FIBA World Championship

Pitching up in group C (Held in Izmar) playing 5 group games, the TBs made it through to the round of 16 with 3-2 record. Beating Lebanon, Canada and France, but losing to Lietuva and Spain.

In the round of 16, The TBs drew Russia, losing 78-56.

Kirk Penny finished 2nd overall in ppg (24.7).

Their final rank was 12th with a 3-3 record.

2011 Stanković Cup

Competing at the 2011 Boris Stanković Cup in China. They played 3 games against China, Russia, and Angola. After going down to Russia in the first game by just 3 points, the Tall Blacks quickly put that behind them, smashing China in their second game, which led to a good win against a strong Angolan team. Playing Russia in the final who were no match for Tall Blacks star shooting guard Kirk Penney. He scored 30 points, to give the Tall Blacks the win and the gold medal for 2011 edition.

2014 FIBA World Cup

Held in Spain, New Zealand were placed in Group C and finished up with a 2-3 statline in pool play. Recording good wins over Ukraine and Finland, after narrowly losing to Türkiye in their opening match. The Tall Blacks other two loses game against the Dominican Republic and the US.

New Zealand made it through to the final 16, playing against Lietuva, but lost the match 76-71.

New Zealand finished in 15th place overall.

2017 FIBA Asia Cup

Landing in Group C, New Zealand gained top spot and made their way through to the finals round. Overcoming Jordan in the 1/4 final 98-70. However losing to Australia in the semi final 106-79. This placed them in the playoff for Bronze which saw them come up against South Korea.

Sadly for the Tall Blacks this was the end of the line coming up short 71-80 and finishing with a 3-3 record.

Shea Illi was named to the All Star Tournament team as PG.

2019 FIBA World Cup Qualification

Partial Qualifier results:

• 23 Nov 2017 vs Korea at TSB Bank Arena, Wellington. Tall Blacks lost 80-86
• 26 Nov 2017 vs Hong Kong at Southourn Stadium, Hong Kong. Tall Blacks won 133-74
• 23 Feb 2018 vs China at Dongguan Basketball Centre, China. Tall Blacks won 82-73
• 26 Feb 2018 vs Korea at Jamsil Gymnasium, Seoul, South Korea. Tall Blacks won 93-84
• 28 Jun 2018 vs Hong Kong at Energy Events Centre, Rotorua. Tall Blacks won 124-65
• 1 Jul 2018 vs China at Spark Arena, Auckland. Tall Blacks won 67-57
• 13 Sep 2018 vs Syria, Nouhad Nawfal Stadium, Zouk Mikael, Lebanon Tall Blacks won 107-66
• 17 Sep 2018 vs Lebanon, Energy Events Centre, Rotorua. Tall Blacks won 63-60
• 29 Nov 2018 vs Jordan at Horncastle Arena, Christchurch. Tall Blacks won 95-69
• 2 Dec 2018 vs Syria, TSB Bank Arena, Wellington. Tall Blacks won 97-74

2019 FIBA World Cup

In the 2019 version held in China the Tall Blacks played a total of 5 games. Finishing 3rd in Group F with a 1-2 record, landing them in the 17-32 classification round.

Overall The Tall Blacks had notable wins over Japan 11-81, Turkey 102-101 (Class round) and Montenegro 93-83 (group play) to finish on a 3-2 record. The group losses came against Brazil and Greece.

A final ranking of 19th was picked up.

2022 FIBA Asia Cup

Starting in Group D - The Tall Blacks came out with a 3-2 record record, beating India and the Phippines but losing to Lebanon (72-86).

Setting up a playoff tilt against Syria which they won 97-58. After knocking over South Korea in the 1/4 finals (88-78) , the Tall Blacks faced Australia in the Semi finals. A loss 85-76 loss sent them to a 3rd place bronze play off with Jordan.

New Zealand were able to get past Jordan with a 83 - 75 win, picking up there first medal in 2 Attempts at the FIBA Asia Cup.

NZ lead the tourny (Rebounds) 49.6 rpg.

Finishing with a 5-2 record with their world ranking changing from 27th to 24th.

2023 FIBA World Cup Qualification

Post Covid restrictions The Tall Blacks played a game against the Philippines in Auckland on 3 July as part of the third window of the World Cup qualifying series. It was the first time the Tall Blacks played on home court since beating Syria 97–74 in Wellington in 2018.^[3]

New Zealand held 2 more games in Feb of 2023 beating Saudi Arabia in Christchurch 110-63 and then 2 days later toppling Lebanon 106-91 in Wellington. This locked in a spot for the 2023 Fiba World Cup.

2023 FIBA World Cup

Drawn in the same group as the USA, Greece and Jordan in Manilla. The Tall blacks made it through to the 17-32 place classification round after 2 losses to USA and Greece and hard fought OT win against Jordan.

New Zealand played a further 2 games against Mexico and Egypt, Splitting to a 1-1 record to end the Tournament in 22nd Position with a 2-3 record.

2024 Paris Olympics

In finishing 22nd overall and placing higher than five other teams in the Asia / Oceania region, the Tall Blacks will be one of 24 teams heading to the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournaments in June next year, at a location yet to be confirmed. From this tournament, the top four countries will earn tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

2025 FIBA Asia Cup

New Zealand has been drawn into pool B of the Asia 2025 Cup Qualifiers alongside the Philippines, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong. They will play each team twice, on a 1 away 1 home schedule.

The windows for these games are Feb 2024, Nov 2024 and Feb 2025.

Competitive record

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	L
1936	Did not participate
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000	Group stage	11th	6	1	5
2004		9th	6	1	5
2008	Did not qualify
2012
2016
2020
2024	To be determined
Total	0 Titles	2/21	12	2	10

FIBA World Cup

FIBA World Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	L
1950	Not a FIBA member
1954	Did not participate
1959
1963
1967
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986	Group stage	21st	5	1	4
1990	Did not qualify
1994
1998
2002	Fourth place	4th	9	4	5
2006	Round of 16	9th	6	2	4
2010		12th	6	3	3
2014		15th	6	2	4
2019	Group stage	19th	5	3	2
2023		22nd	5	2	3
2027	To be determined
Total	0 Titles	7/18	42	17	25

FIBA Asia Cup

FIBA Asia Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	L
1960–2015	Did not participate
2017	Fourth place	4th	6	3	3
2022	Third place	3rd	7	5	2
2025	To be determined
Total	0 Titles	2/2	13	8	5

FIBA Oceania Championship

FIBA Oceania Championship record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	L
1971	Runners-up	2nd	3	0	3
1975	Runners-up	2nd	3	0	3
1978	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	2
1979	Runners-up	2nd	3	0	3
1981	Runners-up	2nd	2	0	2
1983	Runners-up	2nd	2	0	2
1985	Runners-up	2nd	3	0	3
1987	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	2
1989	Runners-up	2nd	2	0	2
1991	Runners-up	2nd	2	0	2
1993	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	2
1995	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	2
1997	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	2
1999	Champions	1st	1	1	0
2001	Champions	1st	3	2	1
2003	Runners-up	2nd	3	0	3
2005	Runners-up	2nd	3	0	3
2007	Runners-up	2nd	3	1	2
2009	Champions	1st	2	1	1
2011	Runners-up	2nd	3	0	3
2013	Runners-up	2nd	2	0	2
2015	Runners-up	2nd	2	0	2
Total	3 Titles	22/22	57	10	47

Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	L
2006	Runners-up	2nd	5	4	1
2018	Third place	3rd	5	3	2
Total	0 Titles	2/2	10	7	3

FIBA Stanković Cup

FIBA Stanković Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	L
2007	Fifth place	5th	5	2	3
2011	Champions	1st	4	3	1
2015	Champions	1st	3	3	0
Total	2 Titles		12	8	4

William Jones Cup

William Jones Cup record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	L
2000	Champions	1st	6	6	0
Total	1 Title		6	6	0

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.^[4][5]

New Zealand national basketball team – 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. F 1 Reuben Te Rangi (C) 28 – (1994-10-14)14 October 1994 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) South East Melbourne Phoenix   PG 2 Izayah Le'afa 26 – (1996-11-07)7 November 1996 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) New Zealand Breakers   PF 3 Finn Delany 28 – (1995-08-12)12 August 1995 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) New Zealand Breakers   PG 4 Taylor Britt 26 – (1996-09-22)22 September 1996 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) Canterbury Rams   PG 5 Shea Ili 30 – (1992-10-06)6 October 1992 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) Melbourne United   PF 7 Yanni Wetzell 27 – (1996-07-08)8 July 1996 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in) Alba Berlin   PG 11 Flynn Cameron 23 – (2000-06-30)30 June 2000 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Melbourne United   PF 16 Tohi Smith-Milner 27 – (1995-10-06)6 October 1995 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) Adelaide 36ers   SF 20 Jordan Ngatai 30 – (1993-03-07)7 March 1993 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Hawke's Bay Hawks   SF 22 Hyrum Harris 27 – (1996-06-03)3 June 1996 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Perth Wildcats   G 23 Walter Brown 20 – (2003-05-23)23 May 2003 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Tasmania JackJumpers   PF 42 Isaac Fotu 29 – (1993-12-18)18 December 1993 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Utsunomiya Brex	Head coach   Pero Cameron Assistant coach(es)   Zico Coronel   Michael Fitchett   Aaron Young Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes last club before the competition Age – describes age on 25 August 2023

Notable players

Probably the most well-known^[why?] former New Zealand Tall Black player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is former San Antonio Spurs forward Sean Marks. Another New Zealand player, former University of Wisconsin star Kirk Penney, briefly played in the NBA, and later played in the EuroLeague with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Žalgiris, after being released by the New Zealand Breakers. In past generations,^[when?] players such as Stan Hill and Glen Denham, were well revered and respected players, who were the face of New Zealand basketball.

• Ed Book – National Basketball League and Tall Blacks legend
• Pero Cameron – 2002 FIBA World Championship All-Tournament Team, two-time assistant coach (reappointed for his second stint in 2015, served as assistant to predecessor, Nenad Vucinic), named Head Coach in December 2019
• Glen Denham – Tall Blacks legend
• Mark Dickel – Tall Blacks star
• Paul Henare – Former New Zealand Breakers captain, head coach from 2015 to 2019
• Dillon Boucher – Former New Zealand Breakers player, General Manager of the New Zealand Breakers, Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
• Stan Hill – Tall Blacks legend
• Phill Jones – Former Cairns Taipans captain
• Sean Marks – Former National Basketball Association player
• Kirk Penney – Former National Basketball Association player
• Frank Mulvihill – Tall Blacks legend
• Paora Winitana – Tall Blacks star, changed the Haka in 2006, only player to not play on Sundays due to religious reasons^{[citation needed]} [Other than (at least) Byron Vaetoe and Tony Smith]

Past rosters

1986 World Championship: finished 21st among 24 teams

Gilbert Gordon, Peter Pokai, Stan Hill, Neil Stephens, Dave Edmonds, Ian Webb, Dave Mason, Tony Smith, Colin Crampton, Frank Mulvihill, Glen Denham, John Rademakers (Head Coach: Robert Bishop)

2000 Olympic Games: finished 11th among 12 teams

Sean Marks, Pero Cameron, Mark Dickel, Phill Jones, Kirk Penney, Robert Hickey, Nenad Vučinić, Tony Rampton, Paul Henare, Brad Riley, Ralph Lattimore, Peter Pokai (Head Coach: Keith Mair)

2002 World Championship: finished 4th among 16 teams

Sean Marks, Pero Cameron, Mark Dickel, Phill Jones, Kirk Penney, Robert Hickey, Dillon Boucher, Damon Rampton, Ed Book, Paul Henare, Paora Winitana, Judd Flavell (Head Coach: Tab Baldwin)

2004 Olympic Games: finished 10th among 12 teams

Sean Marks, Mark Dickel, Phill Jones, Pero Cameron, Kirk Penney, Dillon Boucher, Ed Book, Paul Henare, Paora Winitana, Tony Rampton, Aaron Olson, Craig Bradshaw (Head Coach: Tab Baldwin)

2006 World Championship: finished 16th among 24 teams

Kirk Penney, Pero Cameron, Phill Jones, Mark Dickel, Casey Frank, Paul Henare, Dillon Boucher, Paora Winitana, Tony Rampton, Craig Bradshaw, Aaron Olson, Mika Vukona (Head Coach: Tab Baldwin)

2010 World Championship: finished 12th among 24 teams

Thomas Abercrombie, Benny Anthony, Craig Bradshaw, Pero Cameron, Michael Fitchett, Casey Frank, Phill Jones, Jeremy Kench, Kirk Penney, Alex Pledger, Lindsay Tait, Mika Vukona (Head Coach: Nenad Vučinić)

New Zealand Tall Blacks – 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club PG 0 Shea Ili 22 – (1992-10-06)6 October 1992 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) New Zealand Breakers   G/F 1 Reuben Te Rangi 20 – (1994-10-14)14 October 1994 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Brisbane Bullets   PG 4 Lindsay Tait 33 – (1982-01-08)8 January 1982 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Super City Rangers   SG 5 Everard Bartlett 29 – (1986-02-06)6 February 1986 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Southland Sharks   PG 6 Jarrod Kenny 29 – (1985-09-17)17 September 1985 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Perth Wildcats   F 7 Mika Vukona (C) 33 – (1982-05-13)13 May 1982 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) New Zealand Breakers   G 9 Corey Webster 26 – (1988-11-29)29 November 1988 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) New Zealand Breakers   SF 10 Thomas Abercrombie 28 – (1987-07-05)5 July 1987 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) New Zealand Breakers   F/C 11 Tai Wynyard 17 – (1998-02-05)5 February 1998 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Kentucky Wildcats   F/C 12 Isaac Fotu 21 – (1993-12-18)18 December 1993 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) CAI Zaragoza   G/F 13 Dion Prewster 25 – (1990-01-10)10 January 1990 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) Wellington Saints   C 14 Robert Loe 24 – (1991-08-05)5 August 1991 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) New Zealand Breakers	Head coach   Paul Henare Assistant coach(es)   Ross McMains   Mike Fitchett Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes last club before the tournament Age – describes age on 15 August 2015

New Zealand national basketball team – 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. G 0 Tai Webster 24 – (1995-05-29)29 May 1995 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Galatasaray   F 3 Finn Delany 24 – (1995-08-12)August 12, 1995 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) New Zealand Breakers   PG 5 Shea Ili 26 – (1992-10-06)October 6, 1992 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) Melbourne United   PG 6 Jarrod Kenny 33 – (1985-09-17)17 September 1985 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) Cairns Taipans   SG 9 Corey Webster (C) 30 – (1988-11-29)29 November 1988 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) New Zealand Breakers   SF 10 Thomas Abercrombie 32 – (1987-07-05)5 July 1987 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) New Zealand Breakers   C 14 Robert Loe 28 – (1991-08-05)5 August 1991 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) New Zealand Breakers   PF 16 Tohi Smith-Milner 23 – (1995-10-06)October 6, 1995 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) Melbourne United   SF 20 Jordan Ngatai 26 – (1993-03-07)March 7, 1993 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) New Zealand Breakers   SG 25 Ethan Rusbatch 27 – (1992-05-04)4 May 1992 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) Hawke's Bay Hawks   C 35 Alex Pledger 32 – (1987-03-27)March 27, 1987 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) Melbourne United   PF 42 Isaac Fotu 25 – (1993-12-18)18 December 1993 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) Universo Treviso Basket	Head coach   Paul Henare Assistant coach(es)   Pero Cameron   Ross McMains Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes last club before the tournament Age – describes age on 31 August 2019

Kit

Manufacturer

2015: Peak^[6]

References

1. "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
2. "Kapa Pango Tāroaroa - te Aka Māori Dictionary".
3. "Tall Blacks to play first home game since 2018". Otago Daily Times Online News. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
4. "Tall Blacks Name Final Squad of 12 For FIBA World Cup". Basketball New Zealand. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
5. "Team roster: New Zealand" (PDF). FIBA. 25 August 2023.
6. 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship – New Zealand, FIBA.com. Retrieved 30 September 2015.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Zealand national basketball team.

• Official website  
• FIBA profile