Leanne Walker is one of the most celebrated names in New Zealand women’s basketball, having played at both the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and prior to that at the 1994 FIBA World Championships. Despite not debuting until she was 23, Leanne played over 118 games for the Tall Ferns during a career that spanned 14 years (1992-2005) – only Micaela Cocks has played more games for New Zealand. She led Waikato to NBL titles in 1996 and 2002, winning the NBL Outstanding Guard Award on four occasions.
She has since gone on to become a successful coach of the Waikato Wizards, Waikato rep teams and St Peter’s School, Cambridge. Her coaching achievements include winning four of the last five Girl’s Secondary Schools National Finals as Head Coach of St Peters School in Cambridge, guiding St Peter’s to 5th place at the ISF World Schools Basketball Championships in Greece in 2019, and being Head Coach of the Waikato Wizards NBL team for the past five seasons – while also guiding various Waikato age-group teams to national championships.
Leanne was also named a Tall Ferns Assistant Coach last December.
