Alex McNaught
January 29, 2023
Daniel Fotu
- Nationality: NZL
- Date of Birth: 24/07/99
- Place of Birth: Auckland (New Zealand)
- Position: FRD
- Height (CM): 201
- Weight (KG): 101
- Junior Assoc:
- College: Saint Mary’s (CA) (2018–2022)
- NBL DEBUT: 18/09/22
- AGE AT DEBUT: 23
- LAST NBL GAME: 14/01/24
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 24
- NBL History: New Zealand 2023-24
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Daniel Fotu was born in Auckland (NZ) and attended Rangitoto College on Auckland’s North Shore. He was also a former floor wiper for the NZ Breakers before signing as a development player.
FAMILY: Daniel’s brother, Isaac Fotu also played 1 games in the NBL.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Daniel Fotu made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 23 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.
Paul Henare began his second season coaching New Zealand after the Breakers had missed the 2016/17 playoffs with a 14-14 record during an injury-disrupted campaign. Kevin Dillard, Akil Mitchell, Paul Carter and David Stockton departed, Ben Woodside retired and Corey Webster (to Perth) left after New Zealand declined the third-year option on his contract. The Breakers added imports Edgar Sosa and DJ Newbill and full-time big man James Hunter while initially preserving the third import position. On August 23, Daniel Fotu was named to the roster as a non-contracted development player alongside development-contract players Derone Raukawa and Mitchell Newton.
Fotu (0 points across 1 game) spent the season in a development role rather than the regular playing rotation. His single NBL appearance was a consequence of that roster status rather than an injury absence, with Fotu remaining part of the wider squad throughout the season. New Zealand began the year with an opening loss before winning its next nine games to improve to 9-1 and establish the best start in club history.
Fotu’s only appearance came against Perth at Spark Arena on December 1, when Fotu (0 points, 0 rebounds, and 0 assists) entered off the bench as the Wildcats defeated New Zealand 89-73 and ended the Breakers’ nine-game winning streak. Alex Pledger (15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks) and Shea Ili (14 points and 7 rebounds) led New Zealand, while JP Tokoto (25 points, 5 rebounds, and 9 assists) led Perth.
New Zealand later used its vacant third import position on January 8 to sign Rakeem Christmas for the remainder of the season. James Hunter (2.5 points across 2 games) was waived to create the roster position, with Henare stressing the move was unrelated to Hunter’s performance and saying, “Releasing Jimmy was extremely hard, he is a victim of circumstance.” Christmas (7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds across 12 games) provided additional interior depth through the final portion of the campaign.
Edgar Sosa (15.8 points and 3.8 assists across 28 games) led New Zealand in scoring and received All-NBL Second Team honours. DJ Newbill (13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.4 steals across 30 games), Kirk Penney (10.1 points across 22 games), Thomas Abercrombie (9.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks across 30 games), Ili (9.3 points and 3.1 assists across 30 games), Robert Loe (7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds across 30 games), Pledger (6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds across 28 games) and Mika Vukona (6.2 points and 6.1 rebounds across 30 games) formed the main rotation. Ili won the NBL Most Improved Player award, while Newbill, Abercrombie, Ili, Loe and Vukona played all 30 regular-season and playoff games. New Zealand finished fourth at 15-13.
Fotu did not appear in game one of New Zealand’s semifinal series against Melbourne. Newbill (19 points and 3 steals) and Ili (16 points and 5 assists) led the Breakers, while Ware (33 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists) led Melbourne to an 88-77 win at Hisense Arena.
Fotu was again unused in game two at Spark Arena, where Newbill (21 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists), Penney (17 points) and Loe (16 points and 2 steals) pushed the series into overtime. Boone (33 points, 15 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks) scored the winning put-back in the final second as Melbourne prevailed 88-86 and completed the semifinal sweep.
2022/23
After two seasons spent largely on the road, New Zealand returned to a regular home schedule having finished the previous campaign at the bottom of the ladder with a 5-23 record. Dan Shamir departed and assistant Mody Maor was promoted to head coach, while Yanni Wetzell (to Spain), Hugo Besson (to France), Peyton Siva (to Illawarra), Finn Delany (to Germany), Ousmane Dieng (to Oklahoma City) and Chasson Randle (to Denver) exited the team.
Thomas Abercrombie, Robert Loe and William McDowell-White returned, with Tom Vodanovich (via Sydney), Izayah Le’Afa (via South East Melbourne) and Cameron Gliddon (via South East Melbourne) joining the local roster. Imports Dererk Pardon (via Israel), Jarrell Brantley (via the G League) and Barry Brown Jr (via Beijing) were signed alongside French Next Star Rayan Rupert (via Pôle France), while Alex McNaught and Jayden Bezzant were added to the extended squad.
Daniel Fotu (via Saint Mary’s) became Maor’s first signing, returning to the club on a two-year contract after four seasons of college basketball and beginning his first season as a professional.
“It’s always been a dream to come back to the club that essentially raised me,” he said.
New Zealand opened the season against Melbourne at John Cain Arena on October 2, where Pardon (23 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks) and Brown Jr (23 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists) led the Breakers, but Xavier Rathan-Mayes (33 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) carried United to a 101-97 overtime victory.
Fotu (1.1 points and 0.9 rebounds across 14 games) was a contracted roster player rather than a development player, but remained outside Maor’s main rotation behind the team’s established frontcourt. He appeared in 10 regular-season games and four postseason games, playing 38.1 minutes and making six of nine field goals, including two of three three-pointers. He was also a late withdrawal against South East Melbourne on October 20 because of illness.
His first regular-season appearance came against South East Melbourne at John Cain Arena on October 15, where Fotu (0 points) played the final 1:41 as Loe (18 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block) and Le’Afa (14 points, 6 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 steals) led New Zealand to an 85-77 victory, while Mitch Creek (20 points and 4 rebounds) was the Phoenix’s leading scorer.
Fotu (5 points) scored his first NBL points against South East Melbourne at Christchurch Arena on December 1, making two of three field goals and his only three-point attempt during 2:08 as Brown Jr (31 points) and McDowell-White (14 points, 5 rebounds, and 11 assists) led New Zealand to a 110-84 victory, while Alan Williams (29 points, 13 rebounds, and 2 steals) was the Phoenix’s best.
Fotu’s best game came against Illawarra at Spark Arena on January 19, where Fotu (5 points and 1 rebound) made both of his field-goal attempts and his only three-pointer during 2:39. Pardon (19 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks) and Brantley (16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals) led the Breakers back from a 10-point deficit during the final two minutes, but Tyler Harvey (25 points and 3 steals) made a half-court shot as time expired to give the Hawks a 78-76 victory.
Fotu (2 points and 1 rebound) scored during the final 36 seconds against Melbourne at Spark Arena on January 28 as Brantley (18 points and 5 rebounds) and Loe (15 points and 6 rebounds) led New Zealand to an 80-74 victory. Rathan-Mayes (15 points and 7 rebounds) was United’s leading scorer as the Breakers secured their place in the playoffs.
Brown Jr (19.6 points and 1.2 steals across 27 games) and Brantley (16.3 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals across 35 games) carried much of New Zealand’s offence, while Pardon (11.8 points and 8.2 rebounds across 35 games) anchored the interior and McDowell-White (10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.8 assists across 33 games) directed the backcourt. Le’Afa (10.1 points across 34 games), Rupert (5.9 points across 28 games), Loe (5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds across 30 games) and Abercrombie (5.6 points, 3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals across 27 games) completed the main rotation as New Zealand finished second with an 18-10 record and returned to the playoffs for the first time in five years.
Brown Jr and Pardon were selected to the All-NBL Second Team, with Brown Jr also winning the NBL Best Sixth Man award. Brantley was named the Breakers’ club MVP, Pardon received the club’s Defensive Player of the Year award and Brown Jr won the Members’ Choice award.
Tasmania defeated Cairns 87-79 in the play-in tournament to set up a best-of-three semifinal series against New Zealand.
New Zealand opened the semifinals at Spark Arena with an 88-68 victory, where Fotu (1 rebound) played 1:05 as 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) and Milton Doyle (10 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals) were Tasmania’s leading contributors.
Game two moved to MyState Bank Arena, where Fotu did not play as Brown Jr (19 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals), Brantley (17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks) and Pardon (15 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 steals) led New Zealand, but Doyle (23 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals) and Jack McVeigh (16 points) carried Tasmania to an 89-78 victory and levelled the series.
The deciding game returned to Spark Arena, where Fotu (0 points) played the final 52 seconds as Brown Jr (32 points and 3 steals) and Pardon (15 points, 14 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block) led New Zealand to a 92-77 victory. McVeigh (22 points and 7 rebounds) and Kelly (16 points and 4 rebounds) were Tasmania’s best as the Breakers reached their first Championship Series since 2016.
The Championship Series opened at Qudos Bank Arena, where Fotu did not play as McDowell-White (19 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals), Brown Jr (19 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals) and Brantley (16 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals) led New Zealand to a 95-87 victory. Justin Simon (18 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks) and Jordan Hunter (15 points and 4 rebounds) led Sydney, while Derrick Walton Jr and Xavier Cooks both suffered leg injuries.
Game two moved to Spark Arena, where Fotu (3 points and 1 rebound) made his only field-goal attempt during the final 32 seconds as Brown Jr (21 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals), Brantley (20 points and 6 rebounds) and Le’Afa (14 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) led New Zealand. Kouat Noi (20 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals), Dejan Vasiljevic (16 points and 4 rebounds) and Simon (12 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 steals) carried Sydney to an 81-74 victory.
Sydney regained the series lead at Qudos Bank Arena with a 91-68 victory in front of an NBL record crowd of 18,049, where Fotu (0 points) played the final two minutes. McDowell-White (11 points and 6 rebounds), Brantley (10 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals) and Brown Jr (10 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals) led New Zealand, while Vasiljevic (15 points and 4 rebounds), Tim Soares (14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks) and Walton Jr (12 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists) led Sydney.
New Zealand forced a deciding game with an 80-70 victory at Spark Arena, where Fotu did not play as Brantley (23 points and 5 rebounds), Brown Jr (20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists) and McDowell-White (19 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists) led the Breakers. Abercrombie also recorded 6 steals, while Walton Jr (18 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Angus Glover (12 points and 2 steals) led Sydney in front of a New Zealand basketball record crowd of 9,742.
The deciding game returned to Qudos Bank Arena, where New Zealand led by 11 points during the opening quarter before Sydney completed a late 14-0 run and won 77-69 in front of an NBL record crowd of 18,124. Brown Jr (22 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists), Brantley (16 points and 4 rebounds) and McDowell-White (12 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists) led the Breakers, while Walton Jr (21 points, 3 rebounds, and 6 assists), Cooks (19 points and 11 rebounds) and Glover (12 points and 9 rebounds) delivered Sydney its second consecutive championship. Walton Jr was named Grand Final MVP and the five-game series drew 67,811 fans, while Fotu did not enter the deciding game.
2023/24
New Zealand returned from its NBL23 Championship Series defeat with William McDowell-White, Cameron Gliddon, Izayah Le’Afa and captain Thomas Abercrombie remaining under head coach Mody Maor. 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) were added following the departures of Barry Brown Jr., Jarrell Brantley and Dererk Pardon.
Fotu entered the second season of the two-year agreement he signed after completing his college career at Saint Mary’s.
His best performance came against Sydney at Spark Arena on December 22, where Fotu (8 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal) made three of four field goals during 24 minutes off the bench. Lamb (24 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Jackson-Cartwright (17 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals) led New Zealand, while Kouat Noi (19 points and 4 rebounds) was Sydney’s best as the Breakers won 109-101.
Fotu (2.8 points across 8 games) received limited opportunities during his second season with the club. Jackson-Cartwright (20.6 points, 5.8 assists, and 1.9 steals across 30 games) and Lamb (19.5 points and 6 rebounds across 22 games) led New Zealand to sixth place at 13-15, while Fotu remained unused as the Breakers defeated Sydney 83-76 and lost 88-85 to Illawarra during the postseason.
Daniel Fotu played three seasons the New Zealand Breakers. He averaged 1.6 points, 1 rebounds, and 0 assists in 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 24 | New Zealand | 13-15 (6) | 8 | 63.2 | 22 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 57% | 2 | 6 | 33% | 4 | 4 | 100% | 69% | 64% | 8 |
| 2022-23 | 23 | New Zealand | 18-10 (2) | 14 | 38.1 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 67% | 2 | 3 | 67% | 1 | 1 | 100% | 79% | 0% | 5 | Totals | 23 | 102 | 37 | 24 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 23 | 60.9% | 4 | 9 | 44.4% | 5 | 5 | 100.0% | 73% | 70% | 8 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 24 | New Zealand | 13-15 (6) | 8 | 7.9 | 2.8 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 57% | 0.3 | 0.8 | 33% | 0.5 | 0.5 | 100% | 69% | 64% | 8 |
| 2022-23 | 23 | New Zealand | 18-10 (2) | 14 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 67% | 0.1 | 0.2 | 67% | 0.1 | 0.1 | 100% | 79% | 0% | 5 | Total | 23 | 4.4 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 60.9% | 0.0 | 44.4% | 0.2 | 0.4 | 100.0% | 73% | 70% | 8 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
|---|
FIBA EXPERIENCE
Fotu was a part of the New Zealand UN1* National Team that played at the FIBA Asia Cup in 2016.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- New Zealand - Auckland Tuatara (2022), Nelson Giants (2024) | Japan - Gifu Swoops (2024–2025)
Fotu joined the Auckland Tuatara for the 2022 New Zealand NBL season in New Zealand, and New Zealand - Auckland (2022), Nelson (2024) | Japan - Gifu (2024-2025)
He played three games for Auckland in 2022 before his season was cut short by a major knee injury.
Fotu joined the Nelson Giants for the 2024 New Zealand NBL season in New Zealand, where he played 19 games and averaged 18.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
That 2024 season with Nelson became his most productive New Zealand NBL campaign, with the Giants using him as a key frontcourt scorer across the full season.
On July 9, 2024, he signed with Gifu Swoops for the 2024–25 Japanese B3 League season in Japan.
During the 2024–25 season with Gifu, Fotu played 53 games and averaged 10.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game.
COLLEGE
Fotu played four NCAA Division I seasons at Saint Mary’s (CA) from 2018–19 through 2021–22, suiting up for 126 career games in the West Coast Conference and developing from a freshman rotation forward into a full-time starter before finishing his final year as a key bench scorer on a veteran Gaels group.
As a freshman in 2018–19, Fotu appeared in all 34 games and made four starts, recording 2.8 points per game in 13.8 minutes while shooting .412 from three-point range, with his first career start coming against Bucknell on December 19 and a season-high 16 points against Cal on December 1 where he went 4-for-4 from deep.
In 2019–20, Fotu played every game and made 19 starts, averaging 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 20.5 minutes while shooting 65 percent from the field, and after a season-ending injury to Matthias Tass he shifted into the center role for the remainder of the year, highlighted by 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting in his first start of the season against Seattle on December 28 and his first career double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) against Pacific on February 15.
Fotu took another jump as a junior in 2020–21, starting all 24 games and averaging 8.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in 23.7 minutes per game while leading Saint Mary’s in three-point attempts with 76, posting an overall shooting line of .419/.316/.745 and delivering two double-doubles, including 15 points and 10 rebounds against San Jose State on December 11 and 10 points with 11 rebounds against BYU on February 27.
He also logged several defining “glue-guy” moments that season, including playing all 40 minutes in a win over San Francisco on January 23, setting a career-high with three blocks against Pacific on February 25, and earning Bay Alarm Student-Athlete of the Week on December 14 during a stretch where he scored in every game and averaged 10.0 points in 28.9 minutes during conference play.
As a senior in 2021–22, Fotu appeared in all 34 games off the bench and averaged 6.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.9 minutes, producing his career-best scoring game with 22 points at the Maui Invitational in a win over Notre Dame on November 22, including the go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute, which helped earn him Maui Invitational All-Tournament Team honours and West Coast Conference Player of the Week on November 29.
That senior season also included a season-high eight rebounds and 19 points against Texas Southern, a four-steal game against Yale on December 28, and a key NCAA Tournament contribution of seven points and five rebounds in Saint Mary’s win over Indiana, while he closed his Gaels career as a multi-role forward who had started across multiple seasons and produced across minutes whether in the starting group or as a matchup piece off the bench.
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