NZ Breakers add Kiwis Le'afa, Loe, Britt
- NZ Sports Wire
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
The NZ Breakers' new ownership's left-turn to adding more local talent to the roster has continued.
The Auckland-based Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) franchise has signed Tall Blacks guards Izayah Le'afa and Taylor Britt, and Kiwi big man Rob Loe, with Le'afa and Loe returning to the club.
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Le'afa appeared in 65 games for the Breakers over two seasons, helping the club to within one game of an ANBL title in 2023. The 28-year-old 6-foot-2 guard signed a two-year deal, a year after departing for the Sydney Kings.
Loe played all or parts of six seasons with the Breakers from 2016 to 2023, and returns on a one-year contract.
After being jettisoned by previous Breakers owners, he initially retired before joining Melbourne United as an injury replacement player. The 33-year-old 6-foot-11 centre played 37 games with United last season, averaging 9.0 points and 5.8 rebounds a game, getting within one win of his first ANBL title.
Britt will be returning to the ANBL one a two-year deal (with a club option) after a four-year hiatus. He last played in 29 games for the Perth Wildcats during two Covid-19-affected seasons.
Since, the 28-year-old 6-foot-2 guard has continued to star for the back-to-back NBL champion Canterbury Rams, along with playing for the Tall Blacks and 3x3 Tall Blacks.
With NZ forwards Sam Mennenga, Max Darling and Carlin Davison returning from last season, Tall Blacks forward Reuben Te Rangi already signed in free agency, and Alex McNaught and Kaia Isaac as development players, the Breakers now have nine Kiwis.
Mennenga and Darling were the only full-time Kiwis on the Breakers roster last season, although NZ-born Mojave King also was, and Tai Wynyard was signed short-term as an injury replacement player.
The Breakers are expected to cut ties with Australian guard Mitch McCarron and former NBA centre Tacko Fall through contract buyouts to make way for the New Zealanders.
With Mexican teen 'Next Star' Karim Lopez and Australian forward Sean Bairstow also on the books, three full-time roster spots remain to be filled, most likely by imports.
Meanwhile, another New Zealand guard, Taine Murray, has signed with the Brisbane Bullets on a two-year deal.
Murray was a Breakers development player in 2020-21, seeing action in just one game, before a four-year NCAA Division I career with the University of Virginia, where he was a bench role player.
The Wildcats have also expressed interest in trying to lure Tall Blacks big Yanni Wetzell back to the ANBL. Wetzell was a leading performer for the Breakers in 2021-22 before playing the last three seasons with ALBA Berlin in Germany.