BIO: Dom Kelman-Poto was born in Auckland (New Zealand).

NBL EXPERIENCE

Dom Kelman-Poto made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 23 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

In 2018, a new regime was brought about at the Breakers organisation. In February, a consortium headed by former NBA player Matt Walsh became the majority shareholders via a newly formed company called Breakers Basketball Ltd, thus ending the 13-year Liz and Paul Blackwell ownership team.

Next came the exodus of four of the franchise’s most long-serving figures during the off-season. Paul Henare’s 15 years as player and coach came to an end, New Zealand’s all-time leading scorer Kirk Penney retired, and Alex Pledger (to Melbourne), Mika Vukona (to Brisbane), and Robert Loe (to Cairns) all signed deals elsewhere.

Thomas Abercrombie would step into the role of captain with Vukona’s exit, and former player Kevin Braswell signed up to be the team’s new head coach. Braswell added Corey Webster (via Europe), Tai Wesley (via Melbourne), Jarrad Weeks (via Cairns), Majok Majok (via Melbourne), Patrick Richard, Armani Moore, and Shawn Long to the roster.

Dom Kelman-Poto joined New Zealand as a development player in August after returning from college basketball at Adelphi University and playing for the Super City Rangers during the 2018 New Zealand NBL season, where he averaged 14.8 points and 6.4 rebounds. He was also part of the New Zealand Select team that toured China before joining a Breakers development group assistant coach Mike Fitchett described as having “great talent amongst us this season.”

Kelman-Poto’s only and therefore best NBL game came against Adelaide at Spark Arena on October 28, where Kelman-Poto (0 points) played the final 1:06 as New Zealand defeated the 36ers 114-94 for its first home win of the season. Delany (27 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists) and Moore (17 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists) led the Breakers, while Jacob Wiley (23 points) was Adelaide’s leading scorer.

Kelman-Poto (0 points across 1 game) remained in a development role and did not suffer a documented injury that prevented him from playing more regularly, with his single appearance resulting from his position outside the Breakers’ main rotation.

Long (18.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks) led New Zealand in scoring and earned All-NBL Second Team honours and the Breakers Club MVP award, while Wesley (14.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists), Richard (11 points and 3.6 rebounds), Webster (10.4 points), Weeks (10.1 points), Abercrombie (8.5 points and 5.1 rebounds), Delany (8 points), Ili (7.9 points), and Moore (7.1 points and 4.3 rebounds) were the team’s other key contributors. Weeks finished runner-up for both Best Sixth Man and Most Improved Player.

Kelman-Poto became a free agent following the season and Kelman-Poto (to Southland) joined the Southland Sharks for the 2019 New Zealand NBL season, where he averaged 12.9 points and 8.3 rebounds, ending his first stint with the Breakers after one Australian NBL appearance.

Kelman-Poto did not play when New Zealand closed the season in Brisbane on February 16, where Long (23 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks) and Wesley (17 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists) led the Breakers, while Patterson (23 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists) led Brisbane to an 84-78 victory as New Zealand finished sixth with a 12-16 record.

2023/24
After falling one victory short of the NBL championship, New Zealand retained its local core under head coach Mody Maor. Barry Brown Jr., Jarrell Brantley and Dererk Pardon departed, with 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) joining the roster.

Kelman-Poto signed as a nominated replacement player before later moving onto the active roster as cover for Delany’s calf injury.

His only appearance came against Adelaide in Christchurch on November 30, where Kelman-Poto (3 points) converted his only field-goal and free-throw attempts during the closing minute. Anthony Lamb (24 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists) and Izayah Le’Afa (21 points and 2 steals) led New Zealand, while Dejan Vasiljevic (14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists) was Adelaide’s best as the Breakers won 96-83.

Kelman-Poto (3 points across 1 game) did not appear again as New Zealand finished sixth with a 13-15 record. He remained unused during the postseason as the Breakers defeated Sydney 83-76 before losing 88-85 to Illawarra.

Dom Kelman-Poto played two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers. He averaged 1.5 points, 0 rebounds, and 0 assists in 2 NBL games.