Puke Lenden (born 4 January 1980) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player who played in the
National Basketball League (NBL). He attended
Napier Boys' High School
Napier Boys' High School is a secondary boys' school in, Napier, New Zealand. It currently has a school roll of approximately pupils. The school provides education from Year 9 to Year 13.
Notable alumni
Business
* Rod Drury – chief execu ...
in
Napier, New Zealand.
After debuting in the NBL in 1998 with the
Hawke's Bay Hawks
The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Napier. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Pettigrew Green Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Taylor Hawks ...
, Lenden joined the
Auckland Rebels in 1999 and won his first
championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
. He returned to the Hawks in 2000 and played there until the end of the 2002 season. Lenden moved to Waikato in 2003 and played for the
Titans/Pistons until the end of the 2011 season. He won championships with the Pistons in 2008 and 2009, and was named
Finals MVP in 2008. Following Waikato's withdrawal from the league in 2012, Lenden retired from the NBL.
In 2013, Lenden coached the Waikato Wizards women's side and played for the NZ Maori team that won gold at the FIBA Oceania Pacific Championship.
Lenden came out of retirement in June 2014 to help the
Southland Sharks
The Southland Sharks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Invercargill. The Sharks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Stadium Southland. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the SBS Bank So ...
, after the team lost four players to suspension. He continued on in the NBL in 2015, playing his final season with the
Super City Rangers.
James Blond Supercity Rangers
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References
External links
Australiabasket.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenden, Puke
1980 births
Living people
Hawke's Bay Hawks players
New Zealand men's basketball players
People educated at Napier Boys' High School
Shooting guards
Small forwards
Southland Sharks players
Super City Rangers players
Waikato Pistons players
Waikato Titans players
New Zealand basketball coaches