Dillon Matthew Boucher (born 27 December 1975) is a New Zealand former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. His 13 combined career championships is the most in ANBL/NZNBL history.

Early life

Growing up in Bell Block, a small township just outside of

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

, Boucher picked up basketball in his final year at Bell Block Primary School, thanks in large part to his older brothers. Boucher continued to play the sport through high school, spending his third-form year at New Plymouth's

Spotswood College Spotswood College is a co-educational state secondary school in Spotswood, New Plymouth, New Zealand. It was founded in 1960 and celebrated its 50th Jubilee in 2010. It was formerly New Zealand's largest school. It is New Plymouth's only co-e ...

in 1989 before relocating to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 1990 and attending

Papatoetoe High School Papatoetoe High School (PHS) is a secondary school (years 9–13) in Papatoetoe suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. History Papatoetoe High School was established in 1956. February 2021 COVID-19 outbreak On 14 February, a Year 9 student at Papat ...

. While he enjoyed playing basketball, it was when he was selected for his first New Zealand age-group squad, around the age of 17, he saw the potential to make a career out of it.Hoop dreams take Dillon Boucher from floor wiper to general manager
/ref>

Professional career

Boucher played for the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

in the

Australian National Basketball League The National Basketball League (NBL) is a men's professional basketball league in Australasia, currently composed of 10 teams: 9 in Australia and 1 in New Zealand. It is the premier professional men's basketball league in Australia and New Ze ...

from their inception in 2003 until 2005 when he signed with the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...

for whom he played for in 2005/06. Boucher then played for the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to th ...

between 2006 and 2008. In 2008, he re-joined the New Zealand Breakers and was part of the team's championship three-peat between 2010/11 and 2012/13. Boucher retired from the Breakers and the Australian NBL in 2013. The Breakers retired his number 24. With the

Auckland Pirates The Auckland Pirates were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Pirates competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at ASB Stadium. Team history In March 2011, the franchise was unveiled by Baske ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Boucher won his ninth NZNBL championship. Prior to 2011, he played for the

Auckland Stars The Auckland Stars were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Stars competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at ASB Stadium. Team history The Auckland Stars, then known as Auckland Metro, were ...

Waikato Titans The Waikato Pistons were a New Zealand basketball team based in Hamilton. The Pistons competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at Hamilton Boys' High School. After sitting out the 2012 NBL season, the Pist ...

and

Harbour Heat The Harbour Heat were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Heat competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at North Shore Events Centre. Team history The Harbour Heat, then known as North Shore ...

. He played for the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, before joining the Super City Rangers in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. He was player/assistant with the Rangers in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. In November 2015, he re-signed with the Rangers on a three-year deal, continuing on as a player/assistant coach. On 4 May 2017, Boucher became the second player to reach 400 NBL games, joining

Phill Jones Phillip Charles George Jones (born 25 January 1974) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. He played in Finland, Italy and Australia, but is best known for his 22 seasons with the Nelson Giants in the New Zealand National Bask ...

(406). On 5 June 2017, he played his 409th career NBL game, surpassing Jones as the all-time leader. On 12 July 2018, Boucher announced that the 2018 season would be his last in the New Zealand NBL. He finished his career with 426 NBL games.

Off the court

In 2016, Boucher became the New Zealand Breakers' general manager. In September 2019, he quit as general manager of the Breakers. In November 2020, Boucher was appointed Director of Basketball for the

Auckland Huskies The Auckland Tuatara are a semi-professional basketball team based in Auckland, New Zealand. The Tuatara compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Eventfinda Stadium. Founded in Tasmania in 2019 as the Southe ...

in the New Zealand NBL. In September 2021, Boucher was appointed CEO of Basketball New Zealand.

National team career

Boucher made his first

Tall Blacks The New Zealand men's national basketball team is the senior men's national basketball team of New Zealand. The team is nicknamed the Tall Blacks. The ''Tall Blacks'' name is one of many New Zealand national team nicknames related to the All ...

team in 2001. He was part of the squad who shocked the hoops world to claim fourth place at the 2002 FIBA World Championship. Following his national team call up, Boucher became a fixture in the side until his retirement from the international level in 2008.

Personal

In the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours, Boucher was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

for services to basketball.

References

External links

Dillon Boucher
at nzbreakers.co.nz

at fiba.basketball
Dillon Boucher
at sportstg.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Boucher, Dillon 1975 births Living people Auckland Pirates players Auckland Stars players Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Brisbane Bullets players Commonwealth Games medallists in basketball Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Harbour Heat players Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand Breakers players New Zealand expatriate basketball people in Australia New Zealand men's basketball players Perth Wildcats players Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Sportspeople from New Plymouth Super City Rangers players Waikato Titans players Wellington Saints players 2006 FIBA World Championship players 2002 FIBA World Championship players People educated at Papatoetoe High School