Reuben Te Rangi

Reuben Te Rangi (born 14 October 1994) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) and is a regular New Zealand Tall Black.

Reuben Te Rangi
No. 7 – S.E. Melbourne Phoenix
PositionShooting guard / small forward
LeagueNBL
Personal information
Born (1994-10-14) 14 October 1994
Auckland, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Listed height198 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Listed weight105 kg (231 lb)
Career information
High schoolAuckland Grammar School
(Auckland, New Zealand)
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012Harbour Heat
2012–2016New Zealand Breakers
2013–2014Southland Sharks
2015–2016Super City Rangers
2016–2020Brisbane Bullets
2017–2018Southland Sharks
2019Wellington Saints
2020Canterbury Rams
2020–presentSouth East Melbourne Phoenix
2021–2022Knox Raiders
2023Auckland Tuatara
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  New Zealand
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2018 Gold Coast

Early life

Te Rangi was born in Auckland and raised in the South Auckland suburb of Manurewa.[1][2] He attended Auckland Grammar School and played junior basketball for Counties Manukau Basketball Association.[3]

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. He was subsequently a member of the Breakers' championship-winning team.[4] For the 2013–14 season, he was elevated to the Breakers' roster on a full-time contract.[4] In March 2015, he won his second NBL championship when the Breakers defeated the Cairns Taipans in the NBL Grand Final.[5] A year later, he helped the Breakers reach the 2016 NBL Grand Final series, where they were defeated by the Perth Wildcats.[6]

In April 2016, Te Rangi joined the Brisbane Bullets.[7] In February 2019, he was named the NBL's Best Sixth Man and Most Improved Player.[8]

On 22 July 2020, Te Rangi signed a two-year deal with the South East Melbourne Phoenix.[9]

On 24 March 2022, Te Rangi signed a two-year contract extension with the Phoenix.[10] In January 2023, he played his 300th NBL game.[11]

New Zealand NBL

Te Rangi made his debut in the New Zealand NBL in 2012 with the Harbour Heat[2] and subsequently won the Rookie of the Year award.[12]

In 2013, Te Rangi joined the Southland Sharks and helped them win the championship.[13] He returned to the Sharks in 2014 but was cut mid-season following an off-court incident in New Plymouth.[14]

For the 2015 season, Te Rangi joined the Super City Rangers.[15] He returned to the Rangers in 2016 and helped them reach the NBL final, where they lost to the Wellington Saints.[16]

For the 2017 season, Te Rangi was welcomed back to the Southland Sharks.[14] He helped the Sharks reach the NBL final, where they lost to the Wellington Saints.[17] In 2018, Te Rangi helped the Sharks avenge their defeat to the Saints by beating them in the final behind his Finals MVP performance.[18]

For the 2019 season, Te Rangi joined the Wellington Saints.[19] He went on to play in his fourth straight NBL final, where he won his third NBL championship.[20] He played for the Canterbury Rams in 2020[21] and the Auckland Tuatara in 2023.[22]

NBL1

On 11 March 2021, Te Rangi signed with the Knox Raiders for the 2021 NBL1 South season.[23] He re-joined the Raiders for the 2022 NBL1 South season.[24]

National team career

In 2012, Te Rangi played for the Junior Tall Blacks at the FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship and the Albert Schweitzer Tournament.[2][25] He made his debut for the Tall Blacks in 2013 and played at the FIBA Oceania Championships in the same year.[3] He went on to play at the 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship.[25] 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.[3] He played during the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asia Qualifiers, but missed the World Cup due to injury.[3]

In July 2023, Te Rangi was named in the Tall Blacks squad for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.[26]

Personal

Te Rangi is the son of Alex and Piloma, and he has two siblings, sister Aerin and brother Dante.[14]

References
  1. "Reuben Te Rangi". olympic.org.nz. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  2. Hein, David (24 May 2012). "World champ Te Rangi New Zealand's next big hope". fiba.basketball. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  3. "Reuben Te Rangi". nz.basketball. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  4. Savory, Logan (12 June 2013). "Breakers contract has teenage Te Rangi confident, buzzing". The Southland Times. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  5. "Grand Final Report: Ibekwe jumper wins Breakers the Championship". NBL.com.au. 8 March 2015. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015.
  6. Hinton, Marc (6 March 2016). "NZ Breakers beaten by Perth Wildcats in ANBL finals decider". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  7. "Basketball: Te Rangi signs on with Brisbane Bullets". New Zealand Herald. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  8. "Tall Black Reuben Te Rangi scores double success at Aussie NBL's awards night". Stuff.co.nz. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  9. "Reuben Te Rangi Signs with South East Melbourne". NBL.com.au. 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  10. "Phoenix Sign Te Rangi to Contract Extension". NBL.com.au. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  11. Hersz, Tom (22 January 2023). "Milestone Man Te Rangi Sticks to Process". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  12. "2012 NBL Final Four". basketball.org.nz. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012.
  13. Worthington, Sam (14 July 2013). "Hungry Sharks claim unlikely NBL title". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014.
  14. Savory, Logan (9 June 2017). "Reuben Te Rangi falls in love with basketball again as he points his career in the right direction". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  15. Hinton, Marc (2 February 2015). "SuperCity Rangers sign Reuben Te Rangi for NZ NBL". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  16. Savory, Logan (4 June 2016). "Wellington Saints win 2016 NBL title with win over Super City Rangers". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  17. "Saints create history claiming their tenth title". Basketball.org.nz. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019.
  18. Anderson, Niall (5 August 2018). "Basketball: Southland Sharks beat Wellington Saints in superb final to win NBL title". nzherald.co.nz. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018.
  19. Hyslop, Liam (30 November 2018). "Reuben Te Rangi joins Paul Henare at Wellington Saints for World Cup year". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  20. Smith, Tony (21 July 2019). "Wellington Saints claim 11th NBL title with stunning comeback win over Hawks". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  21. "Rams Announce The Addition Of Reuben Te Rangi For The 2020 Sals NBL Showdown". canterburyrams.basketball. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  22. "TALL BLACKS STAR TE RANGI JOINS TUATARA". tuatarabasketball.com. 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  23. "Raiders add Phoenix Forward Reuben Te Rangi". knoxraiders.nbl1.com.au. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021. South East Melbourne Phoenix starter Reuben Te Rangi will suit up with the Knox Raiders in NBL1 South 2021.
  24. "Reuben Te Rangi". nbl1.com.au. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  25. "Reuben Te Rangi". fiba.com. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  26. "TALL BLACKS SQUAD OF 14 NAMED FOR WORLD CUP PREP TOUR". nz.basketball. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.