Tacko Fall
January 30, 2025
Alex McNaught
- Nationality: NZL
- Date of Birth: 21/06/02
- Place of Birth:
- Position: GRD
- Height (CM): 185
- Weight (KG): 90
- Junior Assoc:
- College:
- NBL DEBUT: 15/10/22
- AGE AT DEBUT: 20
- LAST NBL GAME: 13/01/25
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 22
- NBL History: New Zealand 2023-26
- Championships: 0
- None
NBL EXPERIENCE
Alex McNaught made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 20 years of age. He scored two points in his first game.
A 5-23 campaign and two seasons spent largely in Australia led New Zealand into a major rebuild, with Mody Maor replacing Dan Shamir as head coach and adding Tom Vodanovich (via Sydney), Izayah Le’Afa and Cameron Gliddon (both via South East Melbourne), Dererk Pardon, Jarrell Brantley, Barry Brown Jr, Daniel Fotu and Next Star Rayan Rupert.
A lifelong Breakers supporter and season-ticket holder only two years earlier, Alex McNaught signed a two-year deal as a development player after playing for the Nelson Giants. McNaught (12 games) made 10 regular-season appearances and played twice during the semifinals, remaining behind McDowell-White, Le’Afa, Brown Jr and Gliddon in New Zealand’s backcourt rotation.
His NBL debut came against South East Melbourne at John Cain Arena on October 15, where McNaught (2 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals, and 1 block) played 13 minutes with Thomas Abercrombie unavailable and helped New Zealand record its first win in Melbourne in four years. Loe (18 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block) and Le’Afa (14 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 steals) led the Breakers to an 85-77 victory, while Mitch Creek (20 points and 4 rebounds) led the Phoenix, with Maor later saying New Zealand could not have won without McNaught’s contribution.
His best scoring game came five days later against South East Melbourne at the Trusts Arena, where McNaught (7 points and 2 rebounds) made two of three field-goal attempts and his only three-pointer during 12 minutes. Brantley (17 points and 4 rebounds) and Pardon (16 points and 5 rebounds) led New Zealand, while Kyle Adnam (17 points) helped the Phoenix win 99-77.
McNaught (0 points and 1 rebound) played the final 1:21 of New Zealand’s 88-68 semifinal-opening victory over Tasmania, where Pardon (15 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks) and McDowell-White (13 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists) led the Breakers, while Rashard Kelly (12 points and 4 rebounds) was Tasmania’s leading scorer.
The deciding semifinal returned to Spark Arena, where McNaught (0 points) played the final 52 seconds as Brown Jr (32 points and 3 steals), Pardon (15 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 steals) and Brantley (14 points and 7 rebounds) led New Zealand to a 92-77 victory. Jack McVeigh (22 points and 7 rebounds) led Tasmania as the Breakers reached their first Championship Series since 2016, where McNaught did not take the court during the five-game loss to Sydney.
2023/24
Following its run to the previous season’s Championship Series, New Zealand retained Alex McNaught alongside William McDowell-White, Cameron Gliddon, Izayah Le’Afa and captain Thomas Abercrombie. Head coach Mody Maor added Finn Delany (via Bonn), Mangok Mathiang (via Hapoel Eilat), Dane Pineau (via South East Melbourne), Mantas Rubstavicius (via Lietkabelis), Parker Jackson-Cartwright (via Besiktas), Zylan Cheatham (via Bayern Munich) and Justinian Jessup (via Zaragoza) after Barry Brown Jr., Jarrell Brantley and Dererk Pardon departed.
McNaught signed a three-year extension to his development player contract before the season. “My goal with this new contract extension is to try and cement my place in the team and make consistent minutes,” says McNaught.
“With Mody showing his trust by offering me this extension, I know I will make leaps and bounds in the future.”
His most substantial appearance came against Cairns on December 15, where McNaught (0 points and 1 assist) played 1:23 as New Zealand won 111-82. Lamb (29 points and 8 rebounds) and Rubstavicius (21 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists) led the Breakers, while Taran Armstrong (15 points and 4 assists) was Cairns’ leading scorer.
McNaught (0 points across 3 games) remained at the end of the rotation as New Zealand finished sixth at 13-15. He did not take the court as the Breakers eliminated Sydney 83-76 before Illawarra ended their season with an 88-85 victory.
2025/26
Alex McNaught returned for the final season of his three-year development-player contract, continuing as a reserve guard behind New Zealand’s established backcourt.
McNaught (1 point across 2 games) appeared twice during the season. McNaught (1 rebound) played 1:17 in an 83-114 loss to South East Melbourne before scoring his only basket in the regular-season finale, where McNaught (2 points) played 3:23 as the Breakers defeated Cairns 115-84 and finished seventh with a 13-20 record. McNaught remained unused in New Zealand’s last game, a 111-107 Ignite Cup Final win over Adelaide.
2024/25
New Zealand reshaped its roster after Anthony Lamb, Cameron Gliddon, Dan Fotu, Dom Kelman-Poto, Finn Delany, Mantas Rubstavicius and Zylan Cheatham exited the team, alongside Izayah Le’Afa (to Sydney), Justinian Jessup (to Ulm), Mangok Mathiang (to Ramat Gan) and William McDowell-White (to Berlin), while Thomas Abercrombie retired. Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Max Darling, Dane Pineau, Carlin Davison and Alex McNaught returned, with Petteri Koponen (via Helsinki) replacing Mody Maor as head coach and adding Matt Mooney (via Trento), Sam Mennenga (via Cairns), Mojave King (via Indiana), Mitch McCarron (via Adelaide), Jonah Bolden (via Sydney), Sean Bairstow (via VCU), Grant Anticevich (via Gottingen), Freddie Gillespie (via Belgrade), Karim Lopez (via Badalona) and Kaia Isaac (via Canterbury).
The development guard made his first appearance on 24 October, contributing 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal in 10 minutes as New Zealand suffered a 88-62 loss to South East Melbourne.
McNaught (0.3 points across 6 games) remained at the end of the rotation during his third season with the Breakers, averaging 3.1 minutes while continuing his development as a reserve point guard.
His best game came in New Zealand’s 113-79 road win over Melbourne, where McNaught (2 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal) recorded his only field goal of the season as the Breakers improved to 6-2.
During the FIBA break, Gillespie (6.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks across 9 games) was released (to Milan) and replaced by Tacko Fall (via Nanjing), who averaged 11.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks across 18 games.
Jackson-Cartwright (18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.6 steals across 21 games) and Mooney (16.1 points, 4.4 assists, and 1.6 steals across 29 games) led New Zealand offensively, while Mennenga (11.7 points and 5.3 rebounds across 29 games) and Lopez (9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds across 25 games) provided further support. Jackson-Cartwright won the Breakers’ MVP and Members Choice awards, King (8.5 points across 17 games) was named Defensive Player of the Year and Mennenga’s 29-point performance against Tasmania was voted the Fans’ Moment of the Year.
After entering the FIBA break at 7-3, New Zealand won only three of its final 19 games and finished ninth with a 10-19 record, missing the postseason.
McNaught did not take the court as New Zealand closed the season with a 96-82 loss to Illawarra, where Fall (16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks) led the Breakers and Tyler Harvey (29 points, 5 rebonds, and 8 assists) led the Hawks.
Alex McNaught currently plays for the New Zealand Breakers and has played 23 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 0.6 points, 0.3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists since entering the league in 2022.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 23 | New Zealand | 13-20 (7) | 2 | 4.7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 33% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 1 | 0% | 29% | 0% | 2 |
| 2024-25 | 22 | New Zealand | 10-19 (9) | 6 | 18.7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 17% | 0 | 2 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 17% | 0% | 2 |
| 2023-24 | 21 | New Zealand | 13-15 (6) | 3 | 2.6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 |
| 2022-23 | 20 | New Zealand | 18-10 (2) | 12 | 57.0 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 36% | 1 | 4 | 25% | 2 | 4 | 50% | 43% | 41% | 7 | Totals | 23 | 83 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 20 | 30.0% | 1 | 6 | 16.7% | 2 | 5 | 40.0% | 34% | 33% | 7 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 23 | New Zealand | 13-20 (7) | 2 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 33% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0% | 29% | 0% | 2 |
| 2024-25 | 22 | New Zealand | 10-19 (9) | 6 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 17% | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 17% | 0% | 2 |
| 2023-24 | 21 | New Zealand | 13-15 (6) | 3 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 |
| 2022-23 | 20 | New Zealand | 18-10 (2) | 12 | 4.8 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 36% | 0.1 | 0.3 | 25% | 0.2 | 0.3 | 50% | 43% | 41% | 7 | Total | 23 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 30.0% | 0.0 | 16.7% | 0.0 | 0.3 | 40.0% | 34% | 33% | 7 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
|---|
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- New Zealand - Nelson (2020-2026)
Alex McNaught’s international career has been centred in New Zealand with the Nelson Giants, first suiting up for the club during the Sal’s NBL Showdown in 2020 as part of the Giants’ squad in the condensed season format.
He was confirmed as part of Nelson’s roster again ahead of the 2021 campaign, with the Giants announcing his addition after his appearances for the club the previous year.
In 2022, McNaught played his third season with Nelson and held a regular starting role, earning nominations for Youth Player of the Year and Most Improved Player as his production increased across the season.
During the 2023 season, he set a Nelson career high of 22 points against the Taranaki Airs in the penultimate game of the year.
In 2024, he played all 20 games for the Giants and averaged 9.5 points, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game, continuing to feature prominently in Nelson’s guard rotation.
Ahead of the 2025 season, McNaught returned to Nelson again and was noted as entering his sixth season with the Giants, with the club also adding Callum Dalton to the roster for that campaign.
On 22 January 2026, Nelson confirmed McNaught had re-signed for the 2026 season, with the club describing him as one of the league’s premier perimeter defenders as he returned for a seventh NZNBL season with the Giants.
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