Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) is pleased to announce that eight New Zealand athletes have been selected to attend the 2023 NBA Academy Men’s and Women’s Games in Atlanta, Georgia from 6-9 July 2023.
The participants are: Kavanah Lene, Amy Pateman, Olivia Lassey, Rebecca Moors, Elise Gilbert, Julius Halaifonua, Oscar Goodman and Kaia Berridge.
The NBA Academy Games will feature a series of games between four Select Teams comprised of top players from outside the United States, providing a unique opportunity for participants to develop their games under the guidance of NBA Academy coaches and showcase their skills and talents in front of NCAA coaches and WNBA/NBA team scouts.
All eight athletes have previously been involved in various NBA camps over the past 12 months; Lene, Pateman, Lassey, Moors, Gilbert and Halaifonua all part of the NBA Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Asia Camp in Dubai in June, while Goodman was selected for the NBA Academy Asia Development Camp in Singapore in May. And Berridge was one of eight Kiwis to participate in the 2022 BWB Asia camp in Canberra last August.
BBNZ CEO Dillon Boucher says that pathways such as these play an important part in an athlete’s development and the realization of their sporting goals.
“Only a select few get invited to these NBA Academy games, so it’s an exciting opportunity for these eight young Kiwi athletes to gain experience against their international peers and to be exposed to a world-class environment that the NBA offers,” says Boucher.
“The goal for them will be to soak up as much knowledge and learnings as they can while at these Games – and to put their best foot forward during the games themselves, as opportunities in this environment don’t come around often. Best of luck to all athletes for representing New Zealand at this prestigious event.”
All eight players have also progressed through the New Zealand national team pathways, with Berridge and Halaifonua teammates on the U17 NZ Men’s team that competed in the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup in Spain last August, and Oscar a key player on the U15 team which won silver at the 2022 FIBA U15 Oceania Champions in Guam last November.
Gilbert and Pateman were selected for the U17 NZ Women’s squad for the 2022 FIBA U17 Women’s Asian Champs in Jordan (Elise unable to travel due to injury), and all five girls attended BBNZ’s U17 national camp in Auckland earlier this year – with the goal of being selected for the U17 FIBA Oceania Champs in October.
Halaifonua – now a full-time member of the NBA Global Academy in Canberra – also attended this U17 national camp in April, where he was a standout player.
Boucher says this demonstrates that BBNZ’s national team pathways are in place and working well for today’s young Kiwi athletes.
“Our age group national team setup is helping these athletes – and many others – to build their skills, experience and international profile at a young age; allowing them to be seen on the world stage and recognised by the NBA, and other programmes, for their potential.
“All of our young athletes are on different pathways and have different goals, so part of our job is to guide, support and prepare them on their basketball journey – no matter what that may be.”
