BIO: Leon Hofeni Nehemiah Henry was born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand.

He attended Mount Albert Grammar School and Avondale College.

A rugby league player in his early days, he discovered basketball as a 12-year-old at a holiday camp run by then-Auckland Stars coach Tab Baldwin.

Baldwin gave Henry a Tall Blacks trial when he was 18.

He debuted in the New Zealand NBL with Wellington Saints in 2004 where he won two NZNBL title in 2010 & 2011. He since has won another four NZNBL championships.

He also played five seasons in the Australian NBL, where he was a member of the New Zealand Breakers’ 3-peat championship contingent between 2010/11 and 2012/13.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Leon Henry made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 25 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.

Henry joined the Breakers as a development player in 2010. This season the Breakes were led by Kirk Penney (20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists), Gary 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 Mika Vukona (8.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists) and finished the regular season on top of the ladder (22–6).

New Zealand went on to reach their first-ever NBL Grand Final defeating Perth in the semifinals (2-1) and then Cairns in the Grand Final series (2-1). Bloxham saw limited opportunities to play, appearing in 3 games and failed to score.

2011/12
In 2011/12, Henry averaged 2.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.5 assists, playing a key role in the Breakers rotation, helping the team finish in a first place (21-7).

2012/13
In 2012, the Breakers looked to become the second team in league history to record a three-peat. While Cedric Jackson, Leon Henry, Thomas Abercrombie, Dillon Boucher, Mika Vukona, CJ Bruton, and Daryl Corletto all re-signed, a major decision made this off-season was to not re-sign leading scorer Gary Wilkinson (to Europe) in favour of elevating promising Kiwi centre Alex Pledger into the starting lineup. Import forward Will Hudson (via Gold Coast) signed as his replacement, while Corey Webster, who had sat out the previous season due to a 12-month suspension for the use of banned substances.

The Breakers recorded a number of historic moments this season, beginning with Jackson recording his first career triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the Melbourne Tigers (November 30, 2012). It was only the second triple-double recorded since the NBL went to 40-minute games at the start of the 2009/10 season.

By February, the Breakers extended their longest winning streak record to 11, a record that by mid-March had been extended to fifteen straight games.

New Zealand (24-4) finished on top of the ladder for a second consecutive season with Jackson (14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 2.8 steals) leading the league in assists and steals for the second straight season. Jackson was a obvious choice for the league’s Most Valuable Player and was also selected to the All-NBL First Team for the second consecutive season. Mika Vukona and Thomas Abercrombie were selected to the All-NBL Second and Third team’s, respectively, and Andrej Lemanis was voted the Coach of the Year.

New Zealand faced Sydney in the semifinals and swiftly eliminated them in two games. Abercrombie (15 points and 3 rebounds) and Jackson (11 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals) leading the Breakers in game one (81-64) and Bruton (21 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Pledger (18 points and 12 rebounds) taking charge in game two (99-88).

New Zealand progressed to the Grand Final series, where they would face off against Perth in a Grand Final re-match of the previous year. The Wildcats entered the series shorthanded, having lost starting guard Damian Martin to a Achilles injury prior to the playoffs. Brad Robbins came out of retirement to cover the loss, but with the team missing Martin, the Breakers defeated Perth easily in two straight games. Game one (79-67) saw Corletto (19 points on 7-10 shooting) catch fire and in game two (70-66), the Breakers were led by Bruton (16 points) and Jackson (14 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals). Jackson was subsequently named Grand Final MVP as the team delivered a historic three-peat win.

Henry would appearing in 31 games, averaging 3.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.6 assists.

2014/15
2014/15
Townsville were able to secure the services of star import Brian Conklin for another season, and together with the development of young players like Todd Blanchfield and Mitchell Norton looked to improve in Shawn Dennis’ second year as coach. Veterans Peter Crawford (Adelaide) and Russell Hinder (Retired) were not re-signed, and underperforming import Joshua Pace was replaced with former NBA shot blocker Mickell Gladness.

Dennis replaced the outgoing Crawford and Hinder with Mackay product Clint Steindl and New Zealand born Leon Henry.

While Townsville became quite a force at home, they were never able to win consistently on the road. Townsville’s home success saw the team finish with a winning home record (8-6) for the first time since 2012, but due to finishing with only three wins on the road all season (11-17 record).

High spots for the season included Blanchfield (14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists ) receiving high-profile recognition across the league and even appearing on a number of NBA radars after winning the NBL’s Most Improved Player and earning a spot on the All-NBL Second Team. Conklin (18.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) delivered a even better second season with the Crocodile’s. He shot 50.7 percent shooting from the field and finished fourth in the league in scoring, including a 33 point and 11 rebound effort in a 79–75 loss to the Cairns Taipans. Conklin finished the season being named the NBL’s Most Valuable Player as well as earning a spot on the All-NBL First Team.

Henry appeared in 28 games during the season to average 5.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.9 assists.

2015/16
After finishing the previous season with an 11-17 record, including an 8-6 record at home but only three road wins, Townsville entered 2015/16 after a difficult off-season shaped by financial uncertainty. Todd Blanchfield (to Melbourne), Steven Markovic (to Sydney), Mickell Gladness (not retained), Jacob Holmes (retired) and Greg Vanderjagt (retired and joined Townsville’s coaching staff) departed, while coach Shawn Dennis added Nicholas Kay (via Metro State), Luke Schenscher (via Adelaide), Corey Maynard and Mitchell Young (both via Cairns) and import Jordair Jett. Reigning NBL MVP Brian Conklin was re-signed and appointed captain.

Townsville opened the season against Melbourne United at the Townsville Entertainment Centre on October 9, where Henry (3 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist) played 10 minutes from the bench as the Crocodiles lost 99-84. Conklin (25 points and 5 rebounds) and Clint Steindl (13 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals) led Townsville, while former Crocodile Blanchfield (29 points and 8 rebounds) made seven three-pointers for Melbourne.

Henry (4.2 points and 3.4 rebounds across 28 games) returned for his second season with Townsville and came off the bench in every appearance. He played all 28 regular-season games, did not start a game and did not miss any games through injury or illness.

One of Henry’s strongest early-season performances came in Perth on October 23, where Henry (7 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) helped Townsville recover from 20 points down and defeat the Wildcats 66-63 at Perth Arena. Mitchell Norton (20 points) led the Crocodiles and Jett (10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals) provided support, while Matthew Knight (18 points and 7 rebounds) was Perth’s leading scorer. Norton made two late three-pointers before Henry grabbed a key offensive rebound and made the go-ahead three-pointer as Townsville collected its first win in Perth since 2009.

Henry’s best all-round game came against New Zealand at the Townsville Entertainment Centre on December 5, where Henry (6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks) played 21 minutes from the bench as the Crocodiles lost 86-75. Jett (15 points and 4 steals) and Steindl (13 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists) led Townsville, while Charles Jackson (22 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks) was New Zealand’s best.

Five days later Henry (7 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist) was part of one of Townsville’s most memorable wins, with the Crocodiles recovering from 15 points down inside the final four minutes to defeat Adelaide 101-100. Jett (21 points and 5 assists), Kay (19 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals), Mirko Djeric (12 points) and Steindl (15 points and 2 steals) led the comeback, with Djeric making two three-pointers in the final 42 seconds before Steindl’s steal set up Kay’s game-winning dunk, while Jerome Randle (28 points and 7 assists) was Adelaide’s best.

Henry’s highest-scoring game came against Illawarra on December 31, where Henry (11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal) made four of five field-goal attempts in 18 minutes as Townsville lost 98-74 at the Townsville Entertainment Centre. Norton (18 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals) and Steindl (16 points) led the Crocodiles, while Kirk Penney (23 points) was Illawarra’s leading scorer.

Townsville had fallen to 4-10 by the end of November when Conklin (13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds across 13 games) was released after the club cited a number of “sub-par performances”. Earlier in November, Conklin’s elbow had broken Damian Martin’s jaw during a game against Perth, with the NBL clearing him of wrongdoing, before another elbow incident involving Mitch Creek against Adelaide resulted in a three-match suspension with two games suspended. Conklin later argued the decision to release him was financially driven. Omar Samhan (via Texas Legends) was signed as his replacement for the remainder of the season, with Samhan (13.3 points and 8.9 rebounds across 12 games) becoming Townsville’s primary interior scorer and rebounder.

Schenscher (4.1 points and 3.1 rebounds across 13 games) battled ankle and back problems during the season, while junior Harry Froling (1.6 points across 9 games) was used as an injury-replacement option. Froling’s nine appearances are confirmed by the box scores, although the existing summary’s claim that he was first added with nine games remaining is not consistent with the game data, which shows him appearing in Townsville’s opening game on October 9 and eight further games between November 14 and December 12. Maynard (6.1 points across 25 games) was later sidelined with an ankle injury, leading former Crocodile Chris Cedar (via Mackay) to return as an injury replacement after assistant coach Vanderjagt contacted him on December 31. Cedar (1.5 points across 2 games) appeared twice before Maynard returned.

Jett (15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists across 28 games) found his best form during the second half of the season and led Townsville in scoring, winning the Kevin Sugars Medal as club MVP. Steindl (12.7 points and 3.5 rebounds across 28 games) was named the NBL’s Most Improved Player, while Kay (10.7 points and 6.6 rebounds across 28 games) won Rookie of the Year. Norton (8.8 points across 28 games) and Djeric (5.3 points across 24 games) provided the other main contributions, with Djeric producing his best NBL season to that point, while Dennis was named NBL Coach of the Year as Townsville went 7-7 across its final 14 games.

Townsville closed the season against Sydney at the Townsville Entertainment Centre on February 13, where Henry (6 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist) made both of his field-goal attempts in 10 minutes as the Crocodiles defeated the Kings 126-123 in overtime. Samhan (25 points and 13 rebounds) and Steindl (25 points) led Townsville, while Jason Cadee (32 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists) was Sydney’s leading scorer. The win left Townsville seventh and second-last with an 11-17 record, including an 8-6 record at home and only three road wins.

In April, Townsville’s directors withdrew the Crocodiles from the 2016/17 NBL season after deciding the club was no longer financially viable, with its licence handed back to the league and administrators called in after the organisation was unable to generate the financial support required to continue.

Leon Henry played five seasons in the NBL, playing for both the New Zealand Breakers and the Townsville Crocodiles. He averaged 3.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 113 NBL games.