Jordan Ngatai

Jordan Ngatai (born 7 March 1993) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Hawke's Bay Hawks of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played six seasons with the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian NBL and is a regular New Zealand Tall Black. In the New Zealand NBL, he is a four-time champion.

Jordan Ngatai
No. 11 – Hawke's Bay Hawks
PositionSmall forward
LeagueNZNBL
Personal information
Born (1993-03-07) 7 March 1993
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
NationalityNew Zealand
Listed height200 cm (6 ft 7 in)
Listed weight100 kg (220 lb)
Career information
High schoolMana College
(Porirua, New Zealand)
College
NBA draft2014: undrafted
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012Wellington Saints
2014Wellington Saints
2014–2020New Zealand Breakers
2015Manawatu Jets
2016Taranaki Mountainairs
2017–2019Wellington Saints
2020Otago Nuggets
2020–2022Cairns Taipans
2022Wellington Saints
2023–presentHawke's Bay Hawks
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  New Zealand
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2018 Gold Coast

Early life and career

Ngatai was born in Sydney, New South Wales, in the suburb of Paddington.[1][2] He was raised in New Zealand, in Porirua and Ngāti Toa,[3] where he attended Mana College.[4]

In 2012–13, Ngatai played college basketball for Sierra College in the United States. In 2013–14, he played for BYU–Hawaii.[5]

Professional career

Ngatai made his debut in the New Zealand NBL in 2012 with the Wellington Saints.[6] In his second season with Wellington in 2014, he won his first championship. He subsequently joined the New Zealand Breakers as a development player for the 2014–15 NBL season and was a member of the Breakers' championship-winning team. After a season with the Manawatu Jets in 2015, Ngatai re-joined the Breakers as a development player for the 2015–16 NBL season.[7]

After a season with the Taranaki Mountainairs in 2016, Ngatai was promoted to the full-time playing roster of the Breakers for the 2016–17 NBL season.[8]

In 2017 and 2019, Ngatai won championships with the Wellington Saints.[9][10][11] He was acquired by the Otago Nuggets for the 2020 season,[12] going on to win his fourth NZNBL championship.[13]

On 14 August 2020, Ngatai signed a two-year deal with the Cairns Taipans.[14]

Ngatai returned to the Wellington Saints in 2022[15] and then joined the Hawke's Bay Hawks in 2023.[16] On 15 July 2023, he scored a career-high 47 points in a 106–81 win over the Manawatu Jets.[17]

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 in Lebanon, where the team ended up in fourth position.[4][18] He was a key member of the national side which claimed the bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[19] He was included in the New Zealand squad for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[20]

In July 2023, Ngatai was named in the Tall Blacks squad for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.[21]

References
  1. "Jordan Ngatai". olympic.org.nz. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  2. "Jordan Ngatai". fiba.com. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  3. "Quality hoops on show in Porirua". poriruacity.govt.nz. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  4. "Jordan Ngatai | Basketball New ZealandBasketball New Zealand". nz.basketball. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  5. "Jordan Ngatai Basketball Player Profile, New Zealand Breakers, BYU-Hawaii, News, NBL stats, Career, Games Logs, Best, Awards - eurobasket". Eurobasket LLC. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  6. "Player statistics for Jordan Ngatai". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  7. "Basketball: Breakers name development players". nzherald.co.nz. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  8. "Jordan Ngatai earns fulltime Breakers contract". newshub.co.nz. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  9. "SAINTS CREATE HISTORY CLAIMING THEIR TENTH TITLE". Basketball.org.nz. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  10. Smith, Tony (21 July 2019). "Wellington Saints claim 11th NBL title with stunning comeback win over Hawks". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  11. "Team". Wellington Saints. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  12. Egan, Brendon (11 June 2020). "Otago Nuggets select Jordan Ngatai first in NBL Showdown draft". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  13. "NUGGETS STRIKE GOLD IN SAL'S NBL SHOWDOWN". nznbl.basketball. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  14. "Taipans Sign NZ Wing Jordan Ngatai". NBL.com.au. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  15. "Jordan Ngatai signs with The Wellington Saints". saints.co.nz. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  16. Laing, Doug (2 February 2023). "Basketball: A major signing for the Hawke's Bay Hawks". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  17. Egan, Brendon (16 July 2023). "Jordan Ngatai drops career-high 47 points to help Hawks into NBL finals". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  18. "Jordan NGATAI at the FIBA Asia Cup 2017". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  19. "Basketball | Athlete Profile: Jordan NGATAI - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games". results.gc2018.com. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  20. Proballers. "Jordan Ngatai, Basketball Player". Proballers. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  21. "TALL BLACKS SQUAD OF 14 NAMED FOR WORLD CUP PREP TOUR". nz.basketball. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
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