Mika John Vukona (born 13 May 1982) is a Fijian-born 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. Between 2003 and 2018, he spent 13 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 helped them win four championships. He was also a regular with the

Nelson Giants The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand basketball team based in Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Trafalgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Mike Pero Nelson ...

in the New Zealand NBL and was a long-time New Zealand Tall Black.

Early life

Vukona was born in Suva, Fiji. He was adopted by his birth mother's brother, a Fijian named Clem. Clem and his a wife, a New Zealander named Marion, moved their family to New Zealand in 1987 following the Fiji coup. They settled down in the coastal city of

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

, Marion's hometown. Vukona attended Bethlehem College in Tauranga for both primary and secondary school. He played rugby until third form at Bethlehem College, when his anti-rugby mother forced him to stop. He subsequently followed his brother's footsteps and took up basketball. He went on to become a member of the national under 16, 18 and 20 sides. Basketball took him to

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

in his final school year after earning a scholarship to go to

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

Professional career

Australian NBL

Vukona made his debut in the Australian NBL as a development player during the

' inaugural season in 2003–04. He was elevated from a development player to a full-time contracted player for the 2005–06 season. He played five seasons for the Breakers before joining the

South Dragons The South Dragons were an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). They made their debut in the 2006/07 season and played their final season in 2008/09. The club was based at MSAC in Melbourne's in ...

in 2008. He won a championship with the Dragons in 2008–09. After the Dragons collapsed, Vukona joined the

Gold Coast Blaze The Gold Coast Blaze were an Australian men's professional basketball team which competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The Blaze competed in their inaugural season in 2007–08. The club was based on the Gold Coast and joined the ...

for the 2009–10 season. In 2010, Vukona made a return to the Breakers, and over the next five seasons, he helped the team win four championships, including three straight between

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

and

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

. The 2015–16 season saw the Breakers play in a fifth grand final in six years, where they lost to 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 (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

. In November 2017, Vukona played his 400th NBL game. After eight seasons with the Breakers, Vukona joined the

Brisbane Bullets The Brisbane Bullets are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL) based in Brisbane, Queensland. They competed from 1979 to 2008, and returned to the league in 2016. Brisbane were one of ten NBL f ...

in 2018. Vukona ended the 2018–19 season on 449 games after tearing his

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...

in game one of the Bullets' semi-final series against the Wildcats and thus missing game two. His contract with the Bullets ended at the end of the 2019–20 season.

New Zealand NBL, QSL/NBL1, Lebanon and Italy

Vukona made his New Zealand NBL debut in 2000. He played for the

between 2000 and 2002 before playing for 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 2003. He then played for the Giants between 2004 and 2007 before playing for the

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 ...

in 2008. He played for the Giants between 2010 and 2015, then with the Super City Rangers in 2016, and then again with the Giants in 2018, 2019 and 2020. In April 2014, Vukona ventured outside New Zealand or Australia for the first time, joining Lebanese team

Byblos Byblos ( ; gr, Βύβλος), also known as Jbeil or Jubayl ( ar, جُبَيْل, Jubayl, locally ; phn, 𐤂𐤁𐤋, , probably ), is a city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is believed to have been first occupied between 8 ...

. Twelve months later, he moved to Italy to play for Virtus Roma. In 2020, Vukona played for the Southern Districts Spartans of the Queensland State League (QSL). In 2021, he served as an assistant coach for the Spartans in the

NBL1 North NBL1 North, formerly the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Queensland partnered wit ...

and joined the playing squad midway through the season.

National team career

Vukona debuted for the Tall Blacks in 2005. He retired from international duties in February 2021 after 152 games for the Tall Blacks.

Personal life

Vukona and his wife Vanessa have two children. Vukona holds a Fijian passport. In March 2021, Vukona joined the

Tasmania JackJumpers The Tasmania JackJumpers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Hobart, Tasmania, who entered the National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2021–22 season, and play their home games at MyState Bank Arena and the Silverdome. T ...

' basketball program as a consultant. In November 2022, he was appointed general manager of the

Franklin Bulls The Franklin Bulls are a New Zealand basketball team based in Pukekohe, Auckland. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Franklin Pool and Leisure Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are k ...

in the New Zealand NBL.

References

External links

New Zealand Breakers player profileANBL statsBreakers ready to celebrate as captain fantastic Mika Vukona hits 300 not outNo time for reflectionThe Value of VukonaPush for Success Strong as Ever for MikaNelson Giants star Mika Vukona cut down by untimely bout of appendicitis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vukona, Mika 1982 births Living people Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Basketball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Brisbane Bullets players Commonwealth Games medallists in basketball Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Fijian expatriate basketball people in Australia Fijian emigrants to New Zealand Fijian men's basketball players Gold Coast Blaze players Harbour Heat players I-Taukei Fijian people Manawatu Jets players Nelson Giants players New Zealand men's basketball players New Zealand Breakers players New Zealand expatriate basketball people in Australia New Zealand expatriate basketball people in Italy New Zealand expatriate basketball people in Lebanon New Zealand people of I-Taukei Fijian descent Pallacanestro Virtus Roma players People educated at Nelson College Power forwards (basketball) South Dragons players Sportspeople from Suva Super City Rangers players 2006 FIBA World Championship players 2010 FIBA World Championship players 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games