Morgan Natanahira
- Nationality: NZL
- Date of Birth: 6/01/91
- Place of Birth: Queenstown (New Zealand)
- Position: FRD
- Height (CM): 198
- Weight (KG): 103
- Junior Assoc:
- College: None
- NBL DEBUT: 25/03/12
- AGE AT DEBUT: 21
- LAST NBL GAME: 28/02/13
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 22
- NBL History: New Zealand 2012-13
- Championships: 2
- New Zealand (2012-13)
BIO: Morgan Natanahira was born in Queenstown (New Zealand).
NBL EXPERIENCE
Morgan Natanahira made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 21 years of age. He scored four points in his first game.
After winning their first NBL championship, the Breakers suffered two major losses, the first being leading scorer Kirk Penney’s decision to play in Europe and a off-seasonAchilles injury to Kevin Braswell that saw him still unable to play at the beginning of the 2011/12 season. Coach Andrej Lemanis would replace him with Cedric Jackson and then finalised their roster by adding Daryl Corletto, who the Melbourne Tigers had just released to make room for NBA star Patty Mills.
Jackson (12.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.2 steals) would lead the league in both assists and steals and ensure the Breakers didn’t skip a beat as the defending champs. Gary Wilkinson (16.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Thomas Abercrombie (15.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists) both boosting their offensive output in the absence of Penney, propelling New Zealand to a first-place finish (21-7) for the second consecutive season.
New Zealand would go on to defeat the Perth Wildcats in the Grand Final (2–1) becoming the first side to win consecutive titles since Sydney in 2002-2005. As a development player Fotu appeared in one game, scoring a total of four points.
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.
Natanahira would continue to see limited playing opportunities with the Breakers, appearing in only one games and failing to score.
Morgan Natanahira played two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers. He averaged 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assists in 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 22 | New Zealand | 24-4 (1) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 |
| 2011-12 | 21 | New Zealand | 21-7 (1) | 1 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 29% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 29% | 0% | 4 | Totals | 2 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 28.6% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0% | 0% | 4 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 22 | New Zealand | 24-4 (1) | 1 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0 |
| 2011-12 | 21 | New Zealand | 21-7 (1) | 1 | 17.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 | 29% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 29% | 0% | 4 | Total | 2 | 10.5 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 28.6% | 0.1 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0% | 0% | 4 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
|---|
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- New Zealand - Hawkes Bay (2012-2015)
Natanahira joined the Hawke’s Bay Hawks for the 2012 New Zealand NBL season, playing his first season in New Zealand, and he averaged 8.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists across 17 games.
Natanahira joined the Southland Sharks for the 2013 New Zealand NBL season, and in eight games he averaged 4.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.4 assists.
He remained with the Southland Sharks for the 2014 New Zealand NBL season, and in two games he averaged 0.0 points and 0.5 rebounds.
In 2015, Morgan Natanahira played a second season for the Hawke’s Bay Hawks and averaged 6.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 0.5 assists across 18 games.
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