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 Blacks. Over its history, the team has won three FIBA Oceania Championships, and twice appeared in the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

. It participated in its first

FIBA Asia Cup The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the tourn ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, finishing in fourth place.

Haka

The Tall Blacks perform a traditional Haka (Māori challenge) before every game, but due to the influence of

Pāora Winitana Paul Ramiha "Pāora" Winitana (born 6 December 1976) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player who played the majority of his career in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) for the Hawke's Bay Hawks. He was ordained ...

and Paul Henare, it is very different from the ones performed by the All Blacks.

History

There is a long and storied history of basketball in New Zealand. The Tall Blacks competed at the

2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, and finished with a 1–5 record, their only win coming against Angola, in the playoff for eleventh place. In 2001, they defeated

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, in a three-game series to qualify for the

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, United States. At the tournament, they finished fourth, after beating Puerto Rico in the quarter-finals, before losses to

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

and Germany. Tall Blacks

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Pero Cameron was the only non-

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player named to the All-Tournament team in

. The Tall Blacks also qualified for the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, but again finished with a 1–5 record, and lost to Australia in the playoff for ninth place. Their most noted moment was on the 7th day of the games, when they defeated the then reigning

gold medalists, Serbia and Montenegro, by a score of 90–87.

2006 FIBA World Championship

At the

2006 FIBA World Championship The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from 19 August to 3 September 2006. It was co-organised by ...

, the Tall Blacks were not to repeat their fourth-place finish from

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

. After an 0–3 start, the Tall Blacks rallied into the second round, with two straight wins to close out the group stage. However, they would fall in the round of 16 to the defending

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medalists Argentina, 79–62. After that disappointment,

Tab Baldwin Thomas Anthony "Tab" Baldwin (born 16 May 1958) is an American-New Zealand basketball coach who currently serves as the head of the Gilas Pilipinas Youth national basketball program and head coach for the Ateneo Blue Eagles of the University A ...

resigned as the head

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

of the Tall Blacks, and was replaced by Nenad Vučinić, his longtime assistant coach.

2011 Stanković Cup

The squad competed at the 2011 Boris Stanković Cup in China. They played 3 games against difficult opposition,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Russia, and Angola. After going down to Russia in the first game by just 3 points, the Tall Blacks quickly put that behind them, to smash China in their second game, which led to a good win against a strong Angolan team. The Tall Blacks came up against a strong Russian team in the final, but the Russians were no match for Tall Blacks star shooting guard Kirk Penney, as he scored 30 points, to give the Tall Blacks the win and the gold medal for 2011.

2023 World Cup Qualification

Basketball New Zealand and world governing body FIBA announced the Tall Blacks will play a game against the Philippines in Auckland on July 3rd as part of the third window of the World Cup qualifying series. This is the first time the Tall Blacks have played on home court since beating

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

97-74 in Wellington in 2018.

Performance table

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

2000 Summer Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

: 11th *

2004 Summer Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

: 10th

FIBA Basketball World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup, also known as the FIBA World Cup of Basketball or simply the FIBA World Cup, between 1950 and 2010 known as the FIBA World Championship, is an international basketball competition contested by the senior men's nat ...

1986 FIBA World Championship The 1986 FIBA World Championship was the 10th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Spain and was held from 5 to 20 July 1986. The final phase of the tournament was held at the ...

: 21st *

: 4th *

: 16th *

2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 September 2010. It was co-organised by the Inte ...

: 12th *

2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the tournament previously known as the FIBA World Championship. Hosted by Spain, it was the last tournament to be held on the then-current four-year cycle ...

: 15th *

2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 18th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament was hosted in China and was rescheduled from 2018 to 2019, becoming the first since 1967 FIBA World Ch ...

: 19th *

2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup will be the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams. The tournament will be the second to feature 32 teams. For the first time in its history, the World Cup will be ...

: Qualified

FIBA Asia Cup

FIBA Oceania Championship

Commonwealth Games

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

: Runners-up *

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

: Third Place

FIBA Stanković Cup The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...

* 2007 Stanković Cup: Fifth Place * 2011 Stanković Cup: Champions * 2015 Stanković Cup: Champions

William Jones Cup The R. William Jones Cup (), also known as the Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in Taiwan. It was named in honor of basketball promoter ...

2000 William Jones Cup The 2000 William Jones Cup (23rd tournament) took place in Taipei from 13 July–29 July. Standings Results Preliminary Round Semifinals Finals References {{DEFAULTSORT:William Jones Cup 2000 File:2000 E ...

: Champions

AusTiger International Basketball Tournament

* 2019 AusTiger International Basketball Tournament: Third Place

Team

Current roster

Roster for the

Depth chart

Notable players

Probably the most well-known former New Zealand Tall Black player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) is former San Antonio Spurs forward

Sean Marks Sean Andrew Marks (born 23 August 1975) is a New Zealand-American basketball executive and former player and coach who is the general manager and alternate owner of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the firs ...

. Another New Zealand player, former University of Wisconsin star Kirk Penney, briefly played in the NBA, and later played in the EuroLeague with Maccabi Tel Aviv and Žalgiris, after being released by the New Zealand Breakers. In past generations, players such as Stan Hill and

Glen Denham Glen Ivan Denham (born 1963 or 1964) is a New Zealand former basketball player. He is of Māori descent. Early life Denham was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, the son of a teacher and butcher. His father was Australian and his mother was of Māor ...

, were well revered and respected players, who were the face of New Zealand basketball. *

Ed Book Edward Frank Book (born September 23, 1970) is an American-New Zealand former professional basketball player. Listed at 211 cm (6'11") and 112 kg, Book played the centre position. Playing career Born in Buffalo, New York, Book was educ ...

– National Basketball League and Tall Blacks legend * Pero Cameron –

All-Tournament Team, two-time assistant coach (reappointed for his second stint in 2015, served as assistant to predecessor, Nenad Vucinic), named Head Coach in December 2019 *

– Tall Blacks legend *

Mark Dickel Mark Robert Dickel (born 21 December 1976) is a New Zealand-Australian former professional basketball player and coach. Early years Dickel attended Logan Park High School in Dunedin, New Zealand. In 1993, he joined the Otago Nuggets of the New ...

– Tall Blacks star * Paul Henare – Former New Zealand Breakers

, head coach from 2015 to 2019 *

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

– Former New Zealand Breakers player, General Manager of the New Zealand Breakers, Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit * Stan Hill – Tall Blacks legend * Phill Jones – Former

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 ...

– Former National Basketball Association player * Kirk Penney – Former National Basketball Association player * Frank Mulvihill – Tall Blacks legend * Paora Winitana – Tall Blacks star, changed the Haka in 2006, only player to not play on Sundays due to religious reasons ther than (at least) Byron Vaetoe and Tony Smith

Past rosters

1986 World Championship: finished 21st among 24 teams Gilbert Gordon,

Peter Pokai Peter Alfred Charles Pokai (born 24 August 1965) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball League (NBL) and competed for the New Zealand Tall Blacks at the 1986 FIBA World Championship and 20 ...

, Stan Hill, Neil Stephens, Dave Edmonds, Ian Webb, Dave Mason, Tony Smith, Colin Crampton, Frank Mulvihill,

, John Rademakers (Head Coach: Robert Bishop)

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

: finished 11th among 12 teams

, Pero Cameron,

, Phill Jones, Kirk Penney, Robert Hickey, Nenad Vučinić,

Tony Rampton Tony Rampton (born 30 May 1976) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. Early life and college Rampton was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand, and attended New Plymouth Boys' High School. Rampton left New Zealand as a rising 17 ...

, Paul Henare, Brad Riley, Ralph Lattimore,

(Head Coach: Keith Mair) 2002 World Championship: finished 4th among 16 teams

, Pero Cameron,

, Phill Jones, Kirk Penney, Robert Hickey,

, Damon Rampton,

, Paul Henare, Paora Winitana, Judd Flavell (Head Coach:

)

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

: finished 10th among 12 teams

, Phill Jones, Pero Cameron, Kirk Penney,

, Paul Henare, Paora Winitana,

Aaron Olson Aaron Duane Olson (born 11 May 1978) is a Canadian-New Zealand former professional basketball player who played the majority of his career in New Zealand. Early life and career Born in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada to a New Zealand mother and a C ...

, Craig Bradshaw (Head Coach:

) 2006 World Championship: finished 16th among 24 teams Kirk Penney, Pero Cameron, Phill Jones,

Casey Frank Casey Frank (born October 23, 1977) is an American-New Zealand former professional basketball player who spent the majority of his 17-year career in the New Zealand NBL and Australian NBL. After playing four years of college basketball for Nort ...

, Paul Henare,

, Paora Winitana,

, Craig Bradshaw,

, Mika Vukona (Head Coach:

) 2010 World Championship: finished 12th among 24 teams Thomas Abercrombie,

Benny Anthony Benny Charles "B. J." Anthony Jr. (born 20 July 1988) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player who played multiple seasons in both the Australian NBL and New Zealand NBL. He also played in Germany and England, and represented th ...

, Craig Bradshaw, Pero Cameron, Michael Fitchett,

, Phill Jones,

Jeremy Kench Jeremy Brian Kench (born 27 April 1984) is a New Zealand former professional basketball player who played 12 seasons in the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). Playing career Kench attended former powerhouse Christchurch basketbal ...

, Kirk Penney, Alex Pledger, Lindsay Tait, Mika Vukona (Head Coach: Nenad Vučinić)

Tall Blacks squad 2022

* Quintin Bailey, Jayden Bezzant, Taylor Britt, Joe Cook-Green, Max Darling, Taki Fahrensohn, Benjamin Gold, Hyrum Harris, Jordan Hunt, Brayden Inger, Jonathan Janssen, Michael Karena, Dom Kelman-Poto, Rob Loe, Dion Prewster, Elijah Puna, Richie Rodger, Ethan Rusbatch, Taane Samuel, Tom Vodanovich, Tai Wynyard

Kit

Manufacturer

2015: Peak2015 FIBA Oceania Championship – New Zealand
FIBA.com, Retrieved 30 September 2015.

References

External links

Basketball New Zealand official website

{{National sports teams of New Zealand Men's national basketball teams