Reuben Te Rangi (born 14 October 1994) is a New Zealand 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 for the

South East Melbourne Phoenix The South East Melbourne Phoenix are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The Phoenix entered the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) in the 2019–20 ...

of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) and is a regular New Zealand Tall Black.

Early life

Te Rangi was born in

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 ...

and raised in the

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...

suburb of

Manurewa Manurewa is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand. It was part of Manukau City before the creation of the Auckland super city in 2010. It is located south of the Manukau, Manukau City Centre, and southeast of Auckland CBD. The subur ...

. He attended

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

and played junior basketball for Counties Manukau Basketball Association.

Professional career

Australian NBL

Te Rangi made his debut in the Australian NBL during the 2012–13 season as a development player 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 ...

. He was subsequently a member of the Breakers' championship-winning team. For the 2013–14 season, he was elevated to the Breakers' roster on a full-time contract. In March 2015, he won his second NBL championship when the Breakers defeated the

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Conventio ...

in the NBL Grand Final. A year later, he helped the Breakers reach the 2016 NBL Grand Final series, where they were defeated by 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 ...

. In April 2016, Te Rangi joined 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 ...

. In February 2019, he was named the NBL's Best Sixth Man and Most Improved Player. On 22 July 2020, Te Rangi signed a two-year deal with the

. On 24 March 2022, Te Rangi signed a two-year contract extension with the Phoenix. In January 2023, he played his 300th NBL game.

New Zealand NBL

Te Rangi made his debut in the New Zealand NBL in

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 ...

with 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, ...

and subsequently won the

Rookie of the Year award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

. In

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 ...

, Te Rangi joined 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 ...

and helped them win the championship. He returned to the Sharks 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 ...

but was cut mid-season following an off-court incident in New Plymouth. For the 2015 season, Te Rangi joined the Super City Rangers. He returned to the Rangers in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and helped them reach the NBL final, where they lost to 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 ...

. For the 2017 season, Te Rangi was welcomed back to the Southland Sharks. He helped the Sharks reach the NBL final, where they lost to the Wellington Saints. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, Te Rangi helped the Sharks avenge their defeat to the Saints by beating them in the final behind his Finals MVP performance. For the 2019 season, Te Rangi joined the Wellington Saints. He went on to play in his fourth straight NBL final, where he won his third NBL championship. He played for the

Canterbury Rams The Canterbury Rams are a New Zealand basketball team based in Christchurch. The Rams compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Cowles Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as The Wheeler Motor Can ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

and the

Auckland Tuatara The Auckland Tuatara is a professional baseball team in the Australian Baseball League based in Auckland, New Zealand. They are the only team from New Zealand to compete in the ABL, and one of two expansion teams that entered the league in the ...

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

NBL1

On 11 March 2021, Te Rangi signed with the

Knox Raiders Knox Raiders is a member club of the NBL1 South based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of Knox Basketball Incorporated (KBI), the major administrative basketball or ...

for the 2021

NBL1 South NBL1 South is a NBL1 conference based in South East Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2019, Basketball Victoria partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to create NBL1 to replace the South East Australi ...

season. He re-joined the Raiders for the 2022 NBL1 South season.

National team career

In 2012, Te Rangi played for the Junior Tall Blacks at the

FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship The FIBA Oceania Under-17 Championship is an under-17 basketball championship in the International Basketball Federation's FIBA Oceania zone. Since 2017, the competition previously known as FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship, which was a quali ...

and the

Albert Schweitzer Tournament The Albert Schweitzer Tournament (AST) is an international basketball competition that is played between national basketball teams of the Under-18 men age category. It takes place every two years in Mannheim, Germany, and is contested between t ...

. He made his debut for the

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 ...

in 2013 and played at the

FIBA Oceania Championships FIBA Oceania Championship was the Oceania basketball championships that took place every two years between national teams of the continent. Through the 2015 edition, the Oceania Championship was also a qualifying tournament for the Basketball ...

in the same year. He went on to play at the

2015 FIBA Oceania Championship The 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship for Men was the 22nd edition of the tournament. The tournament featured a two-game series between Australia and New Zealand. It also served as the qualifying tournament of FIBA Oceania for basketball at the ...

. He captained the Tall Blacks at the 2017 Asia Cup in Lebanon, and in 2018, he was a member of the bronze medal winning team at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. He played during the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asia Qualifiers, but missed the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

due to injury. In July 2023, Te Rangi was named in the Tall Blacks squad for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Personal

Te Rangi is the son of Alex and Piloma, and he has two siblings, sister Aerin and brother Dante.

References

External links

NBL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Te Rangi, Reuben 1994 births Living people Auckland Tuatara basketball players Basketball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Basketball players from Auckland Brisbane Bullets players Canterbury Rams players Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in basketball New Zealand Breakers players New Zealand men's basketball players People educated at Auckland Grammar School Shooting guards Small forwards South East Melbourne Phoenix players Southland Sharks players Super City Rangers players Wellington Saints players Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players