BASKETBALL PLAYERS from New Zealand

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary New Zealander Basketball Players of all time. This list of famous New Zealander Basketball Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Steven Adams (1993 - )

With an HPI of 33.50, Steven Adams is the most famous New Zealander Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.

Steven Funaki Adams (born 20 July 1993) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing one season with the Wellington Saints, in 2011, Adams moved to the United States in 2012 to play college basketball for Pittsburgh. Adams was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 12th overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. He was the Thunder's primary starting center for six consecutive seasons. In November 2020, after seven years in Oklahoma City, Adams was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. In August 2021, he was dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies.

2. Aron Baynes (1986 - )

With an HPI of 28.93, Aron Baynes is the 2nd most famous New Zealander Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Aron John Baynes (born 9 December 1986) is an Australian professional basketball player who last played for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Washington State University before starting his professional career in Europe. In 2013, he joined the San Antonio Spurs, and a year later, won an NBA championship with the Spurs. He has also played with the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, and Toronto Raptors. Baynes also plays for the Australian national team.

3. Kirk Penney (1980 - )

With an HPI of 20.43, Kirk Penney is the 3rd most famous New Zealander Basketball Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Kirk Samuel Penney (born 23 November 1980) is a New Zealander former professional basketball player. He is the all-time leading scorer for New Zealand’s national team. He ranks 12th all-time in points scored at the FIBA World Cup. Penney played four years of college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers between 1999 and 2003, where he was initially a walk-on and later was twice named first-team all-conference and as an all-American. He became the second New Zealander in the NBA when he appeared briefly for the Miami Heat in 2003 and the Los Angeles Clippers in 2005. He went on to play professionally in Spain, the NBA Development League, Israel, Lithuania, Germany and Turkey. He also played six seasons for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He was named the NBL MVP in 2009, named to the NBL first-team four times, led the NBL in scoring three times and won an NBL championship with the Breakers in 2011. Penney represented New Zealand at the Sydney and Athens Olympics and averaged 16.9 points at the World Championships in Indianapolis in 2002 and 24.7 points at the World Championships in Turkey in 2010.