A Guide to the New Zealand Men’s Basketball Team
The New Zealand men’s basketball team, known by sporting fans as the ‘Tall Blacks’, have won three FIBA Oceania Championships and claimed a bronze medal at FIBA Asia Cup 2022. The team have also appeared at two editions of the Olympic Games and six FIBA Basketball World Cups.
Discover more about the New Zealand men’s basketball team with this in-depth guide from the experts at Courtside 1891. Read on to discover the team’s legendary stars, top achievements and top players.
2024 Olympics - Men's Basketball
The New Zealand men's basketball team are confirmed as one of the 24 nations that will compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2024, which you can stream live with Courtside 1891. The tournaments are currently scheduled for July 2-7 2024.
Four places remain to make up the twelve-team field that will compete at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The Olympic basketball events will take place between 27th July and 10th of August 2024. The nations currently confirmed to participate are France (host), South Sudan, Serbia, Canada, Japan, Germany, Australia and the United States.
Along with New Zealand, the teams competing from Asia and Oceania will be Lebanon, the Philippines and Bahrain.
From Europe, the competing Olympic qualifying tournament nations are Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Lithuania, Italy, Spain, Greece, Georgia, Poland, Montenegro and Finland.
Along with Egypt, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire and Cameroon are the competing African nations.
Puerto Rico, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Mexico advanced from the Americas region, following positive results at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. They will be joined by the Bahamas, who shocked Argentina in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in La Banda, Argentina.
How Did New Zealand Do At The FIBA World Cup 2023?
Here are the key stats from New Zealand's FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign:
- → Final Standing: 22nd
- → Results: Played 5 Won 2 Lost 3
- → Top Points Scorer: Finn Delany / Reuben Te Rangi 82 PTS (16.4 PPG)
- → Top Assist Provider: Shea Illi 38 AST (7.6 APG)
- → Most Efficient Player: Shea Illi 18.2 EPG
After a difficult opening game against the USA, the Tall Blacks picked up a 95-87 win over Jordan before losing a win-and-go-through match against Greece. They were unable to bounce back against a Pako Cruz-inspired Mexico before Tom Delany put in a 27-point Game MVP performance against Egypt to end their World Cup campaign with a W. Both Delany and Te Rangi did the bulk of the scoring for New Zealand while Shea Illi recorded two double-double games to cap off a solid tournament for the floor general.
Team Presentation Video
Keen to learn more about the New Zealand basketball team before the start of FIBA Basketball 2023? Watch the Tall Blacks Team Discovery Video below. It acts as the perfect primer for the World Cup and is packed with stats you can drop on your basketball buddies.
Team Presentation - New Zealand - FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023
New Zealand World Cup Qualification
New Zealand took part in the Asian Qualifiers for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. Here, they were initially drawn in Group A, alongside the Philippines, India and South Korea.
They ultimately topped this group with a perfect 4-0 record and a points difference of +161. They only played four games rather than the scheduled six as South Korea were forced to step away from the competition due to Covid-19.
After topping their initial qualifying group, New Zealand advanced to the second and final round of qualifying, where they were drawn in Group E, alongside Lebanon, the Philippines, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and India. Here, they continued their strong form and topped the group with an overall record of 8-2.
New Zealand were so strong during qualifying that they stamped their ticket to the big show with two qualifying windows remaining! Their only defeats came after this time, when they fielded a more inexperienced and experimental side.
Best World Cup Qualifying Plays
New Zealand used 32 players during their 10 qualification games, with only shooting guard Ethan Rusbatch playing in every qualifier. He scored an impressive 124 points and ended the campaign with a cumulative +/- of +190! On top of this, Tom Vodanovich also put in a couple of impressive individual performances. He scored 69 points and grabbed 33 rebounds in only 105 minutes of action.
Being able to call on a deep pool of Tall Black talent was evident in their best plays from World Cup 2023 qualifying, where only player appears multiple times in the bearded shape of Jordan Ngatai.
Keen to see the variety in New Zealand’s offense during qualifying? Check out the team’s Top 10 plays from qualification in the video below. The double jam plays from Jordan Ngatai in the same game was a standout moment during the early rounds of qualifying.
Best Plays - New Zealand - FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers 2023
Current Star Players
Basketball New Zealand released an expanded roster for the World Cup on June 29 that featured eight of the 12 players that averaged a FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019-best 99.4 points per game. Just over a month later that list was trimmed to 14 hoopers for their World Cup prep tour.
Brothers Corey and Tai Webster did not make the tour list, having been forced to miss the Tall Blacks' FIBA Basketball World Cup training camp.
The final squad featured Finn Delany and Yanni Wetzell, who both shone in Europe last season as well as Flynn Cameron (son of head coach and legendary Tall Black Pero Cameron), who was one of the team’s stars at the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup. Fan favourites Jordan Ngatai and Tohi Smith-Milner made the cut.
Legends of the Team
Ask fans of the Tall Blacks who their favorite player is and they’ll probably won’t take long to tell you it’s Kirk Penney.
Penney made his debut for New Zealand in 1999, aged 18. Over the course of the next 15 years, he was an ever-present for the team, appearing in two Olympic tournaments and four FIBA Basketball World Cups.
When New Zealand surprisingly grabbed fourth place at the 2002 FIBA World Cup, it was largely down to Penney’s heroics. In the tournament, he averaged 16.9 points per game and hit 45.5% of his three-point shots. He also played a central role for his country in 2009, when New Zealand won gold at the FIBA Oceania Championship.
Domestically, Penney became only the second New Zealander to play in the NBA when he appeared briefly for the Miami Heat in 2003 (he later also represented the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2004-05 season). For all his achievements in the game, he was inducted into the Basketball New Zealand Hall of Fame in May 2022.
Historical World Cup Performance
The New Zealand basketball team have competed at six editions of the FIBA Basketball World Cup. To date, their best finish came back in 2002, when they went on a Cinderella run and came fourth. After losing to a strong FR Yugoslavia side in the semi-finals, they were easily defeated by a Dirk Nowitzki-powered Germany in the third-place match.
Previous Successes and Tournament Wins
The Tall Blacks have also made appearances at two editions of the Olympic Games, in 2000 and 2004. During these two competitions, New Zealand finished 11th and 10th, respectively.
New Zealand have also captured three gold medals at the FIBA Oceania Championship, a bronze medal at the FIBA Asia Cup and two medals at the Commonwealth Games.
How to Watch New Zealand Men's Basketball
With Courtside 1891, worldwide fans can watch New Zealand compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (FOQTs) 2024. We stream every game of FIBA international tournaments as well as other competitions from around the world.
As FIBA’s premium streaming partner for the World Cup, Courtside 1891 provided access to every 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup game! Watch the competition's biggest games and best moments on-demand on our FIBA Basketball World Cup page.
The best way to make sure that you never miss a single second of the upcoming action is to download our app, which is available on the App Store and Google Play, or sign up to our website platform. Please be aware that, due to broadcasting rights and restrictions, access to some games might be restricted depending on your location. See our where-to-watch page for full details of upcoming competitions.
Looking for the latest results from the world of basketball? Head over to the Courtside 1891 Game Center. Here you’ll also find matchup times in your country as well as easy-to-access game highlights you can watch when you register with Courtside 1891.
