BIO: Raukawa was born in Levin, New Zealand, but moved to Tauranga as a 5-year-old. Later he moved to Australia before returning to Auckland.

In 2011, Raukawa played for Otumoetai College and the Tauranga rep team before moving to Auckland at the start of 2012, where he enrolled at Rosmini College. That same year, he joined the New Zealand Breakers Academy and often trained with the senior team. He also had two weeks in China, where he captained the Junior Tall Blacks against Slovenia, the United States and China. He then played for Waitakere West at the national under-21 tournament in Porirua before leading Waitakere West to the under-19 title in Dunedin, downing North Harbour 90–89 in the final. He was subsequently named to the all-tournament team.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Derone Raukawa made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 22 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

New Zealand began Paul Henare’s first season as head coach following the departure of Dean Vickerman and chief executive Richard Clarke after the Breakers’ 2016 Grand Final loss. Cedric Jackson (to Melbourne) and Tai Wesley (to Melbourne) were among the major player departures, with Kirk Penney (via Illawarra), Robert Loe (via Limburg United), Ben Woodside (via Türk Telekom) and Akil Mitchell (via Antibes) joining a core which still included Thomas Abercrombie, Corey Webster, Alex Pledger and Mika Vukona.

Derone Raukawa joined New Zealand’s development squad on August 24 alongside Ethan Rusbatch and Sam Waardenburg after spending the previous season as part of the Breakers training squad. Raukawa had played for Southland during the 2016 New Zealand NBL season and was selected for the Tall Blacks’ Olympic qualifying campaign before receiving his development contract. Henare said of the new group, “All three guys bring their own style and flare to the team but they have some tough work ahead.”

Raukawa impressed during the preseason when New Zealand faced Brisbane in Invercargill on September 17, scoring a team-high 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting in 28 minutes during an 86-77 loss. His momentum was halted soon afterwards when he suffered a badly broken finger, keeping him sidelined for approximately six weeks and ruling him out of the opening stages of the regular season.

After returning through the Breakers Development team, Raukawa made his NBL debut against Illawarra at Vector Arena on November 18. Raukawa (0 points) played 1:03 from the bench and committed two turnovers in his only senior appearance of the season. Penney (19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal) and David Stockton (17 points, 1 rebound, and 5 assists) led New Zealand, while Rotnei Clarke (17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals) was Illawarra’s leading scorer as the Breakers won 100-85.

Raukawa (0 points across 1 game) did not appear in another NBL game during the season. His limited total was partly shaped by the broken finger which cost him the first six weeks, but after recovering he remained a development player behind New Zealand’s established guards and continued playing with the Breakers Development team. His November 18 appearance was also his best game of the season.

The Breakers endured significant turnover in the backcourt during the season. Woodside (8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.3 steals across 6 games) ruptured the plantar fascia in his right foot and David Stockton (via Cedevita Zagreb) was signed as his injury replacement. Stockton (8.3 points and 4.2 assists across 10 games) later struggled with a lower-back injury and was released alongside Woodside, with Kevin Dillard (via Pınar Karşıyaka) replacing them for the final stretch. Webster (11.7 points across 15 games) also required season-ending hip surgery, while Abercrombie (11.7 points and 5.2 rebounds across 21 games) missed time with a broken hand and Paul Carter (via ALBA Berlin) was brought in as injury cover.

Penney (17.4 points and 3.4 rebounds across 28 games) led New Zealand in scoring and was named club MVP, while Dillard (18.1 points, 4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals across 9 games) helped the Breakers recover from an 8-12 record with four consecutive victories. Mitchell (9.5 points and 7.2 rebounds across 25 games), Pledger (8.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks across 28 games), Loe (7.1 points and 3.4 rebounds across 26 games) and Vukona (6.5 points and 5.1 rebounds across 27 games) remained the other major contributors.

Raukawa was not selected for New Zealand’s final game against Melbourne on February 10, where Dillard (16 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) and Penney (15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block) led the Breakers, while Casper Ware (23 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal) was Melbourne’s best as New Zealand won 88-70 and finished fifth with a 14-14 record.

2017/18
New Zealand entered Paul Henare’s second season as head coach after an injury-affected 2016/17 campaign ended outside the playoffs at 14-14. Kevin Dillard, Akil Mitchell, Paul Carter and David Stockton departed, Ben Woodside retired and Corey Webster (to Perth) left after the Breakers declined his third-year option. Edgar Sosa and DJ Newbill were signed as imports, James Hunter joined the full-time roster and the third import position was initially left vacant. On August 23, Derone Raukawa was re-signed on a development contract, with Mitchell Newton also taking a development position and Daniel Fotu joining as a non-contracted development player.

Raukawa (0 points across 4 games) remained at the end of Henare’s rotation, with his four appearances spread across October, December and February. The limited game total reflected his development-player role rather than an injury absence during the 2017/18 NBL season. New Zealand recovered from its opening loss by winning nine straight games and reached 9-1, giving the club the best start in its history.

On January 8, the Breakers activated their unused third import position and signed Rakeem Christmas for the remainder of the season. James Hunter (2.5 points across 2 games) was released to open the roster spot despite Henare making clear the decision was not based on his performance, saying, “Releasing Jimmy was extremely hard, he is a victim of circumstance.” Christmas (7.6 points and 5.7 rebounds across 12 games) added another frontcourt option for the run towards the playoffs.

Raukawa’s best game came against Melbourne at Spark Arena on February 11, where Raukawa (0 points and 1 rebound) played 1:09 off the bench in a 100-82 loss. Sosa (25 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists) and Newbill (13 points) led New Zealand, while Chris Goulding (21 points) was Melbourne’s leading scorer. Raukawa made his fourth and final appearance five days later against Illawarra, finishing with one rebound in 4:13.

Sosa (15.8 points and 3.8 assists across 28 games) led the Breakers in scoring and was selected to the All-NBL Second Team. 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), Shea Ili (9.3 points and 3.1 assists across 30 games), Robert Loe (7.3 points and 4.3 rebounds across 30 games), Alex Pledger (6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds across 28 games) and Mika Vukona (6.2 points and 6.1 rebounds across 30 games) supplied the main rotation, with Ili winning the NBL Most Improved Player award. Newbill, Abercrombie, Ili, Loe and Vukona played all 30 team games across the regular season and playoffs as New Zealand finished fourth at 15-13.

Raukawa was not used in the opening semifinal against Melbourne at Hisense Arena. Newbill (19 points and 3 steals) and Ili (16 points and 5 assists) led New Zealand, but Ware (33 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists) carried United to an 88-77 victory.

Raukawa also did not play in game two at Spark Arena. Newbill (21 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists), Penney (17 points) and Loe (16 points and 2 steals) led New Zealand, while Boone (33 points, 15 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks) scored the decisive put-back in the final second of overtime to give Melbourne an 88-86 win and a 2-0 series sweep.

Derone Raukawa played two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers.