Paul Henare on the NZ Breakers’ Early Years, the Tall Blacks’ 2002 World Champs Run, and Japan’s Basketball Boom
December 13, 2024
Kevin Braswell
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 23/01/79
- Place of Birth: Baltimore, Maryland (USA)
- Position: PG
- Height (CM): 188
- Weight (KG): 90
- Junior Assoc:
- College: Georgetown (1998–2002)
- NBL DEBUT: 14/01/10
- AGE AT DEBUT: 30
- LAST NBL GAME: 4/11/12
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 33
- NBL History: New Zealand 2010-11 | Melbourne 2013
- Championships: 1
- New Zealand (2011)
BIO: Braswell was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, where he attended Lake Clifton Eastern High School.
He then had a prep season at Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, Maine.
FAMILY: Braswell’s immediate family includes his mother, Millicent Boone, and his younger brother, James Boone.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Kevin Braswell made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 30 years of age. He scored six points in his first game.
Having acheived their first-ever playoff appearance the season prior, coach Andrej Lemanis returned with the majority of Breakers roster intact, losing only Phill Jones (to Cairns) and Tim Behrendorff (to Wollongong). Having played with one import last season, Rick Rickert, the Breakers added Dave Thomas (via Cairns) to add veteran leadership to the club but prior to the season starting, he was forced to retire from playing in the NBL due to injury. Former NBA talent Awvee Storey was then signed as his replacement and development player Thomas Abercrombie was elevated to the full squad.
New Zealand struggled through the first half of the season, mainly due to missing their leading scorer Kirk Penney (23.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists) due to a back injury that saw him sidelined for nine games. In addition to this, Storey (7.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists) fell well short of expectations and was released after nine games with the club stating “things weren’t working out”. John Rillie (4.3 points and 1.6 rebounds), who had been released by Townsville the season prior, signed with the club as a interim replacement and appeared in 12 games.
New Zealand was then boosted by the midseason addition of import Kevin Braswell (9.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.3 steals), who played in the Breakers final seven games, winning the last six in a row.
New Zealand’s late-season surge proved to be in vain, as the Breakers missed the playoffs during one of the closest NBL seasons of all-time. Despite New Zealand being only two games behind league leaders Perth, they would miss the playoffs and finish in fifth place (15-13).
2010/11
Braswell initially decided to play the 2010/11 season with Turkish team Aliağa Belediyesi SK but before the season could start, left the team to play a second season with the New Zealand Breakers.
A key to the Breakers’ success this season was the return of Mika Vukona, who had won a championship with the South Dragons in 2009. Vukona returned to the team and assumed the role of captain, replacing Paul Henare. The Breakers’ next move was replacing import Rick Rickert with former Utah State University standout Gary Wilkinson.
The season began with Kirk Penney missing the start of the season while he attempted to earn an NBA contract. Failing to do that, he re-joined the Breakers after the season’s first month. Despite missing Penney, the Breakers won their first five games of the season before losing to the Wildcat’s in Perth (114–74).
Kirk Penney (20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists) would finish as the team’s leading scorer, with the Breakers finishing the regular season on top of the ladder (22–6). Wilkinson (15.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists), CJ Bruton (11.0 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists), Thomas Abercrombie (10.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) and Vukona (8.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists) rounded out New Zealand’s starting lineup, while Braswell (10.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists) add a spark from the bench, a role that would see him selected the NBL’s Best Sixth Man at the end of the year.
This season was also notable for the impact of 22-year-old Corey Webster (4.0 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.9 assists), who was elevated into the Breakers’ full-time roster this season and started to steal time away from legendary point guard CJ Bruton this season. Bruton played seven minutes less than the season prior, a testament to New Zealand much improved, much deeper roster.
New Zealand met fourth seed Perth in the semifinals and lost the opening game to the Wildcat’s at home. The Breakers returned to New Zealand for games two and three and recovered by winning both games, qualifying for their first-ever NBL Grand Final.
There, the Breakers met Cairns in the championship series and coasting to a easy win in game one (85–67) after leading by as much as 31 in the third quarter. The team’s then fought out a gripping game two in Cairns, which saw the game tied at the end of regulation (60-60) and at the end of the first overtime (73–73), before Cairns prevailed (85–81), sending the series to a third and deciding game.
With the final game played back on New Zealand soil, the Breakers recorded a comfortable win (71–53) and became the first team non-Australian team to win a NBL championship.
Thomas Abercrombie collected Grand Final MVP honours and while Bruton etched his name into Breakers folklore after he nailed two three-pointers in the fourth quarter to seal the game against the Cairns Taipans, winning his fourth NBL title.
During the offseason Braswell played in New Zealand where he suffered a a Achilles which required surgery. Braswell was still unable to play at the beginning of the 2011/12 season which prompted the Breakers to replace him with Cedric Jackson.
MELBOURNE TIGERS
2012/13
After failing to reach the playoffs, Melbourne replaced head coach Trevor Gleeson with former Tigers star Chris Anstey, who had only retired from playing a mere 18 months earlier. Anstey brought with him another Tigers Legend, Darryl McDonald, who was announced as his assistant.
Anstey’s first signing came in the form of Seth Scott, a 6’10 forward and shortly after signed Nate Tomlinson (Via University of Colorado) and Adam Ballinger (via Adelaide) to replace the outgoing Cam Tragardh and Daniel Dillon who asked to part ways with the Tigers at seasons end.
In the weeks prior to the NBL season, Melbourne was able to sign up-and-coming talent Chris Goulding who unexpectedly became available after demise of the Gold Coast Blaze. Goulding was a highly sought after free agent in 2012, pursued by multiple team’s before deciding to sign with the Tigers. Goulding’s signature resulted in the Tigers having little need for shooting guard Ron Dorsey, who was then released despite having another year on his contract. At the time of signing Goulding Tigers head coach Chris Anstey referred to the young tyro as ‘in our opinion, the absolute best Australian player that didn’t have a contract’.
Anstey and the Tigers then finalised their playing roster by signing Kevin Braswell, who led New Zealand to their first championship on the basis he would be obtaining New Zealand citizenship. The Tigers retained the previous year’s group of Bennie Lewis, Matt Burston, Liam Rush, Lucas Walker and team captain Tommy Greer and looked to rebound from three straight years of missing the playoffs.
As soon as the season began, it became clear Braswell (10.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.4 steals) was battling persistent knee problems, which saw him released after five games. Having struggled through the start of the season (1-4) Melbourne signed former sixth overall pick in the NBA draft, Jonny Flynn, who had been waived by the Pistons the month prior. Upon his signing, head coach Anstey called Flynn ‘possibly the highest credentialed player in the prime of his career to ever play in the NBL.’
Flynn instantly turned things around for the struggling Tigers, leading the team to a 96-66 rout of the Adelaide 36ers and a 23-point turnaround from the loss they suffered to the Sixers in the season opener.
Flynn (17.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists) formed a potent scoring duo with Goulding (15.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists), and Melbourne clawed themselves back from the bottom of the ladder to finish equal with Sydney (12 wins, 16 losses) but missed out on the top four due to the Kings having a two-point lead against the Tigers in head to head match-ups.
Seth Scott (11.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists) impressed enough to be named to the All-NBL First Team, and Flynn was a part of the All-NBL Second Team.
Kevin Braswell played three seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Melbourne Tigers and the New Zealand Breakers. He averaged 10.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 46 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 34 | Melbourne | 12-16 (5) | 5 | 144 | 50 | 13 | 26 | 1 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 54 | 31% | 4 | 24 | 17% | 12 | 13 | 92% | 42% | 35% | 18 |
| 2010-11 | 32 | New Zealand | 22-6 (1) | 34 | 826 | 348 | 89 | 143 | 25 | 64 | 42 | 12 | 126 | 82 | 119 | 345 | 34% | 50 | 175 | 29% | 60 | 71 | 85% | 46% | 42% | 32 |
| 2009-10 | 31 | New Zealand | 15-13 (5) | 7 | 162 | 68 | 15 | 38 | 3 | 12 | 16 | 0 | 18 | 16 | 23 | 63 | 37% | 12 | 38 | 32% | 10 | 13 | 77% | 49% | 46% | 22 | Totals | 46 | 1132 | 466 | 117 | 207 | 29 | 88 | 70 | 12 | 159 | 113 | 159 | 462 | 34.4% | 66 | 237 | 27.8% | 82 | 97 | 84.5% | 46% | 42% | 32 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 34 | Melbourne | 12-16 (5) | 5 | 28.8 | 10.0 | 2.6 | 5.2 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 10.8 | 31% | 0.8 | 4.8 | 17% | 2.4 | 2.6 | 92% | 42% | 35% | 18 |
| 2010-11 | 32 | New Zealand | 22-6 (1) | 34 | 24.3 | 10.2 | 2.6 | 4.2 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 3.7 | 2.4 | 3.5 | 10.1 | 34% | 1.5 | 5.1 | 29% | 1.8 | 2.1 | 85% | 46% | 42% | 32 |
| 2009-10 | 31 | New Zealand | 15-13 (5) | 7 | 23.1 | 9.7 | 2.1 | 5.4 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 9.0 | 37% | 1.7 | 5.4 | 32% | 1.4 | 1.9 | 77% | 49% | 46% | 22 | Total | 46 | 24.6 | 10.1 | 2.5 | 4.5 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 10.0 | 34.4% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 27.8% | 1.4 | 5.2 | 84.5% | 46% | 42% | 32 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 32 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
|---|
NBA EXPERIENCE
Played for the Florida Flame in the NBAs Development League.
In July 2005, Braswell played for the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Summer League. He later signed with the Miami Heat on October 3, 2005, but was waived on October 12 after appearing in one preseason game.
Braswell played games in the NBA. He averaged 0 points, 0 rebounds, and 0 assists per game over his NBA career.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Belgium - Tournai Estaimpuis (2002–2003) | Poland - Spójnia Stargard Szczeciński (2002–2003) | Italy - Cimberio Aironi Novara (2003–2004) | Turkey - Pınar Karşıyaka (2005), Selçuk Üniversitesi (2007–2008) | Greece - Kolossos Rodou (2005) | Dominican Republic - Metros de Santiago (2006) | Russia - Standart Samara reg. Toliatti (2006–2007) | Bosnia and Herzegovina - HKK Široki (2008) | France - Cholet Basket (2008–2009), Limoges CSP (2010) | Israel - Barak Netanya (2009) | New Zealand - Southland Sharks (2011–2015), Wellington Saints (2016)
Kevin Braswell joined Tournai Estaimpuis for the 2002–03 Belgian league season, playing his first professional season in Belgium and averaging 16.9 points and 2.8 assists in 10 games.
Braswell split that 2002–03 period by also playing in Poland with Spójnia Stargard Szczeciński, and he remained on the move for 2003–04 when he shifted to Italy to play for Cimberio Aironi Novara.
In 2004–05, Braswell finished the season in Turkey with Pınar Karşıyaka, where he played nine games and averaged 14.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 61.9% at the free-throw line, 49.1% on two-pointers, and 29.6% on three-pointers.
After returning to Europe in 2005, Braswell played seven games in Greece for Kolossos Rodou before leaving in December 2005.
In September 2006, Braswell helped Metros de Santiago win the Dominican Republic LNB championship, and he then moved to Russia for the 2006–07 season with Standart Samara reg. Toliatti.
Braswell returned to Turkey for the 2007–08 season with Selçuk Üniversitesi and produced 21.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 2.4 steals per game across 29 appearances.
For the 2008–09 season, he opened in Bosnia and Herzegovina with HKK Široki before finishing the season in France after joining Cholet Basket in December 2008.
Braswell began the 2009–10 season in Israel with Barak Netanya, playing eight games between October 25 and December 14 before returning to France later in 2010 with Limoges CSP.
During the NBL off-season, Braswell decided to play in New Zealand with the Southland Sharks, averaging 20.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury after six games that required surgery and kept him out for 12 months.
Braswell returned healthy in 2013 and re-joined the Southland Sharks, averaging 19.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while leading the club to the New Zealand NBL championship, and he then returned in 2014 to average 23.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, highlighted by a 45-point career high in his 50th Sharks game.
Returning to Southland for a fifth season in 2015, Braswell averaged 17.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 6.0 assists and helped the Sharks win their second title in three years, before retiring after the season with the Sharks retiring his No. 12 jersey, and across 78 career games for Southland he averaged 19.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.2 steals per game.
In 2016, as coach of the Wellington Saints, Braswell made a one-game comeback, suiting up once and scoring 8 points before returning to his head coaching duties the following game.
COLLEGE
Kevin Braswell played college basketball at Georgetown from 1998 to 2002, starting in all 128 games of his four-year career and scoring in 127 of them while averaging over 33 minutes per game.
As a freshman in 1998/99, Braswell started all 31 games for a Georgetown team that finished 15–16 overall (6–12 Big East), averaging 13.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, and earning Big East All-Rookie Team recognition while beginning what became four straight seasons as the team’s leader in both assists and steals.
In 1999/00, Braswell started every game again and lifted his production to 14.8 points per game while posting 179 assists and 90 steals, and his season included one of Georgetown’s most notable postseason performances when he scored a career-high 40 points in a triple-overtime NIT win over Virginia on March 15, 2000, playing 49 of the 55 minutes in Georgetown’s 115–111 victory as the Hoyas finished 19–15 overall and reached the NIT second round.
As a junior in 2000/01, Braswell served as a team co-captain for a Georgetown squad that went 25–8 and reached the Sweet 16, and while his scoring dipped to 11.5 points per game, he delivered his best playmaking season with 202 assists across 33 games, added 94 steals, and was recognised with Second Team All-Big East honours.
Braswell closed his Georgetown career in 2001/02 as a senior co-captain, starting all 30 games and averaging 14.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.7 steals per game while shooting 83.5% at the line, and he was named Third Team All-Big East; his senior season also included a 16-assist performance against Rutgers on March 2, 2002, tying the school’s single-game record while also making him the program’s all-time assists leader in the same game as Georgetown finished 19–11 overall.
Across his four seasons, Braswell finished his Hoyas career ranking seventh all time in scoring (1,735 points) while setting Georgetown career records for assists (695) and steals (349), and he also held the school record for three-pointers made (189) until it was broken in December 2007 by Jonathan Wallace; his 1,569 field goal attempts were more than all but two players in school history (Eric Floyd and Reggie Williams), and he remains a leader in more major statistical categories at Georgetown than any player except Patrick Ewing, with career averages of 13.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.7 steals per game.
AWARDS
- 1x time NBL 6th Man (2011) - As player: 2× NZNBL champion (2013, 2015)
- As player: LNB champion (2006)
- As player: Third-team All-Big East (2002)
- As player: Second-team All-Big East (2001)
- As player: Big East All-Rookie Team (1999)
- As player: No. 12 retired by Southland Sharks
- As coach: 2× NZNBL champion (2016, 2017)
- As coach: NZNBL Coach of the Year (2017)
COACHING HISTORY
After playing his final New Zealand NBL season in 2015, Braswell was appointed head coach of the Wellington Saints for the 2016 season.
On 15 April 2016, he briefly came out of retirement for a one-game playing appearance because Wellington was short-handed, appearing in a 97–72 loss to Canterbury before returning to his coaching role.
Braswell led Wellington to the 2016 New Zealand NBL championship in his first season as a head coach.
In 2017, Braswell guided the Saints through an undefeated 20–0 season and a second consecutive championship. He was named the 2017 New Zealand NBL Coach of the Year.
Braswell returned for a third season with Wellington in 2018 and took the Saints to a third consecutive Grand Final, where Southland defeated Wellington.
On 16 April 2018, Braswell was appointed head coach of the New Zealand Breakers on a three-year deal. He coached the Breakers for the 2018/19 NBL season but was released from his contract in June 2019 after one year in charge.
In May 2020, Braswell was appointed head coach of the Auckland Huskies for the New Zealand NBL season. He coached Auckland for the 2020 campaign before parting ways with the club following the season.
On 25 June 2021, Braswell joined the Akita Northern Happinets in Japan’s B.League as an assistant coach for the 2021/22 season.
He returned to Akita for 2022/23 and was elevated to associate coach, also serving as acting head coach during the season. His two-season tenure with Akita ended in June 2023.
In July 2023, Braswell joined Utsunomiya Brex as associate coach for the 2023/24 B.League season.
On 5 June 2024, Utsunomiya promoted Braswell to head coach for the 2024/25 season, giving him his first head-coaching role in Japan.
Braswell was hospitalised in January 2025 after a heart condition was discovered and underwent emergency surgery. Associate coach Zico Coronel took over as interim head coach while Braswell was unavailable.
Braswell died on 24 February 2025 at the age of 46 while serving as head coach of Utsunomiya Brex. The club confirmed his death that day after he had been hospitalised since 17 January.
On 25 February, the New Zealand Breakers paid tribute to their former player and head coach, recalling his role in their first NBL championship in 2011, his Best Sixth Man award in 2010/11 and his return as their head coach in 2018/19. The NBL also issued a tribute recognising his 46 games as a player and 28 as head coach.
Utsunomiya later completed the 2024/25 season with a 48–12 regular-season record and won the B.League championship, with the club continuing to honour Braswell throughout its title run.
LIFE AFTER BASKETBALL
Kevin Braswell passed away on February 24, 2025, aged 46, in hospital in Utsunomiya, Japan.
He had been hospitalised on January 17 after suffering a heart attack and undergoing emergency heart surgery.
The precise cause of death was not publicly disclosed.
At the time of his passing, Braswell was head coach of Utsunomiya Brex in Japan's B.League.
The former New Zealand Breakers championship winner and 2011 NBL Best Sixth Man was remembered by his former clubs and the wider basketball community, with Utsunomiya paying tribute before its March 1 home game.
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