Jordan Ngatai (born 7 March 1993) is a New Zealand professional basketball player 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 ...

of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played six seasons with 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 NBL and is a regular New Zealand Tall Black. In the New Zealand NBL, he is a four-time champion.

Early life and career

Born and raised in Porirua, New Zealand, Ngatai graduated from

Mana College Mana College is a decile two secondary school in Porirua, Wellington, New Zealand. Mana College celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2007. History In recent years, the college has introduced Pathways a system to help students achieve in areas they ...

before attending

Sierra College Sierra College is a public community college in Rocklin, California. It is part of the Sierra Joint Community College District, a district that covers over , serves Placer, Nevada and parts of El Dorado and Sacramento counties. History The co ...

in the United States for one year. For the 2013–14 season, he played basketball for BYU–Hawaii.

Professional career

Ngatai made his debut in the New Zealand NBL in 2012 with the

. In his second season with Wellington in 2014, he won his first championship. He subsequently joined the

as a development player for the

2014–15 NBL season The 2014–15 NBL season was the 37th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 10 October 2014 and 22 February 2015, followed by a post-season featu ...

and was a member of the Breakers' championship-winning team. After a season with the

Manawatu Jets The Manawatu Jets are a New Zealand basketball team based in Palmerston North. The Jets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Central Energy Trust Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Pro ...

in 2015, Ngatai re-joined the Breakers as a development player for the

2015–16 NBL season The 2015–16 NBL season was the 38th season of competition since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between 7 October 2015 and 14 February 2016, followed by a post-season featuri ...

. After a season with the

Taranaki Mountainairs The Taranaki Airs are a New Zealand basketball team based in New Plymouth. The Airs compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Steelformers Airs. T ...

in 2016, Ngatai was promoted to the full-time playing roster of the Breakers for the

2016–17 NBL season The 2016–17 NBL season was the 39th season of the National Basketball League since its establishment in 1979. A total of eight teams contested the league. The regular season was played between October 2016 and February 2017, followed by a pos ...

. In 2017 and 2019, Ngatai won championships with the Wellington Saints. He was acquired by the

Otago Nuggets The Otago Nuggets are a New Zealand basketball team based in Dunedin. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Edgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Night 'n Day Otago ...

for the 2020 season, going on to win his fourth NZNBL championship. On 14 August 2020, Ngatai signed a two-year deal with the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The ...

. Ngatai returned to the Wellington Saints for the 2022 New Zealand NBL season.

National team career

Ngatai made his senior international debut for the Tall Blacks in 2013 at the FIBA Oceania Championships. He represented New Zealand at the

2017 FIBA Asia Cup The 2017 FIBA Asia Cup (formerly known as the FIBA Asia Championship) was the 29th continental basketball championship in Asia. The tournament was organised by FIBA Asia. It took place from 8 to 20 August 2017, a week earlier from the initial sche ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, where the team ended up in fourth position. He was a key member of the national side which claimed the bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He was included in the New Zealand squad for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

References

External links

Jordan Ngatai
at nbl.com.au

at archive.fiba.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngatai, Jordan 1993 births Living people 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Basketball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games BYU–Hawaii Seasiders men's basketball players Cairns Taipans players Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in basketball Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Manawatu Jets players New Zealand Breakers players New Zealand expatriate basketball people in the United States New Zealand men's basketball players Otago Nuggets players Sportspeople from Porirua Sierra College alumni Small forwards Taranaki Mountainairs players Wellington Saints players