Izaiah Brockington
August 17, 2025
Rob Baker
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 28/06/98
- Place of Birth: Woodstock, Georgia (USA)
- Position: F/C
- Height (CM): 211
- Weight (KG): 93
- Junior Assoc:
- College: Harvard (2016–2020)
- NBL DEBUT: 19/09/25
- AGE AT DEBUT: 27
- LAST NBL GAME: 17/01/26
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 27
- NBL History: New Zealand 2026
- Championships: 0
- None
NICKNAME/S: Bake
BIO: Robert Baker was born in Woodstock, Georgia (USA) and attended The Walker School in Marietta, Georgia, where he was a four-year starter on the basketball team and also earned two varsity letters in baseball. He captained the basketball team for three seasons and graduated as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,535 career points. Baker earned first team All-State, All-Region, All-County, and team MVP honors as both a junior and senior, and was a McDonald’s All-America nominee. Off the court, he was a member of the National Latin Honor Society, a National Latin Exam Gold Medalist, and a four-year member of the Latin Club, concert band, and jazz band, as well as a member of the chess club.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Rob Baker made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 27 years of age. He scored 12 points in his first game.
Following a 10-19 season that left New Zealand ninth and outside the playoffs, the Breakers entered 2025/26 without Matt Mooney, Jonah Bolden (to Illawarra), Mojave King (to Cairns), Grant Anticevich (to Belgium), Freddie Gillespie (to Turkey), Tacko Fall (to China), Tai Wynyard, Dane Pineau (retired) and Mitch McCarron (retired), while Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Sam Mennenga, Karim Lopez, Max Darling, Sean Bairstow and Carlin Davison returned from the previous season’s roster.
After returning as President of Basketball Operations in March 2025, Dillon Boucher worked with second-year head coach Petteri Koponen to rebuild around a stronger New Zealand playing core. In April, Boucher said the Breakers had contacted virtually every New Zealander playing outside New Zealand or Australia, directly or through their agents, with Finn Delany and Yanni Wetzell among the overseas players publicly discussed as potential recruits.
Coach Petteri Koponen returned for a second season and added Reuben Te Rangi (via Tasmania), Izayah Le’Afa (via Sydney), Rob Loe (via Melbourne), Taylor Britt (via Canterbury), imports Izaiah Brockington (via Vancouver) and Rob Baker II (via Berlin), with Jack Andrew and Liam Judd joining as development players.
The one-year agreement brought Baker to New Zealand as the team’s third and final import after he finished the previous season with Alba Berlin, with the 27-year-old also playing for Indiana at NBA Summer League and representing the United States at the FIBA AmeriCup before arriving in New Zealand.
New Zealand opened the season at Spark Arena on 19 September, where Baker (12 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist) played 19 minutes off the bench in a 104-95 loss to Brisbane, with Jackson-Cartwright (16 points, 5 rebounds, 12 assists, and 3 steals) and Brockington (16 points) leading the Breakers while Casey Prather (27 points) starred for the Bullets.
Baker (10 points and 4.8 rebounds across 25 games) started 21 times and provided New Zealand with a mobile floor-spacing forward, making 43 three-pointers at 38.7 per cent before injury ended his season.
His best scoring game came at the WIN Entertainment Centre on 31 October, where Baker (19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block) made four three-pointers as New Zealand collected its first road win with a 102-60 victory over defending champion Illawarra. Mennenga (21 points and 11 rebounds) and Lopez (14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) provided support, while JaVale McGee (13 points and 10 rebounds) led the Hawks as the Breakers produced the biggest win of the NBL season and improved to 3-7.
Baker’s best all-round performance came against Tasmania on 6 December, where Baker (18 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block) shot 7-of-12 from the field as New Zealand defeated the JackJumpers 99-86 at Spark Arena. Brockington (22 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Jackson-Cartwright (16 points, 6 rebounds, and 12 assists) led the Breakers, while Bryce Hamilton (21 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists) was Tasmania’s best as New Zealand moved into sixth place with a 7-10 record.
Baker’s season ended at HoopsFest on 17 January, where Baker (3 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals) helped New Zealand defeat Cairns 104-86 before rupturing the ACL in his right knee. Mennenga (28 points and 5 rebounds) and Brockington (24 points) led the Breakers, while King (19 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists) was Cairns’ best, with subsequent scans confirming Baker required surgery and would miss the remainder of the season.
Le’Afa (3.5 points across 15 games) had already suffered a fractured foot and was replaced by Tai Webster (via France), while Baker’s injury left New Zealand without one of its starting forwards during the final month of the season.
Jackson-Cartwright (17.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 1.8 steals across 34 games) and Mennenga (17.8 points and 6.8 rebounds across 28 games) led New Zealand offensively, with Brockington (16.1 points and 3.8 rebounds across 33 games), Lopez (11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals across 31 games), Webster (7.1 points and 3.1 rebounds across 16 games), Te Rangi (6.8 points across 34 games) and Davison (5.2 points and 3.3 rebounds across 34 games) providing further support. Jackson-Cartwright earned All-NBL Second Team honours and received the Breakers’ MVP and Members’ Choice awards, Mennenga won the NBL’s Next Generation Award and Brockington was named the club’s Defensive Player of the Year.
New Zealand finished seventh with a 13-20 record and missed the NBL postseason, but its 3-1 Ignite Cup record earned the Breakers a place in the inaugural final against Adelaide on the Gold Coast.
The Ignite Cup Final was played at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on 22 February, where Baker remained sidelined as Jackson-Cartwright (29 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals), Mennenga (21 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists), Brockington (21 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals), Te Rangi (17 points and 8 rebounds) and Lopez (12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals) led New Zealand, while Bryce Cotton (34 points and 9 assists), Zylan Cheatham (21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals) and Nick Rakocevic (21 points and 11 rebounds) were Adelaide’s best, with Jackson-Cartwright named Ignite Cup MVP as the Breakers won 111-107 to claim the inaugural Ignite Cup and $300,000.
Rob Baker played one season in the NBL. He averaged 10.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 27 | New Zealand | 13-20 (7) | 25 | 520 | 255 | 121 | 17 | 26 | 95 | 21 | 19 | 27 | 57 | 91 | 197 | 46% | 44 | 112 | 39% | 29 | 42 | 69% | 59% | 57% | 19 | Totals | 25 | 520 | 255 | 121 | 17 | 26 | 95 | 21 | 19 | 27 | 57 | 91 | 197 | 46.2% | 44 | 112 | 39.3% | 29 | 42 | 69.0% | 59% | 57% | 19 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 27 | New Zealand | 13-20 (7) | 25 | 20.8 | 10.2 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 7.9 | 46% | 1.8 | 4.5 | 39% | 1.2 | 1.7 | 69% | 59% | 57% | 19 | Total | 25 | 20.8 | 10.2 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 3.6 | 7.9 | 46.2% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 39.3% | 1.8 | 4.5 | 69.0% | 59% | 57% | 19 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 19 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
|---|
FIBA EXPERIENCE
Baker represented the United States at the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup in Managua, helping Team USA secure the bronze medal and finish third in the tournament. Over six games he started twice and averaged 4.5 points and 4.8 rebounds, with one of his best performances coming in a 105–93 overtime win against the Bahamas where he contributed 9 points and 5 rebounds. Fellow NBL import Andrew Andrews was also a member of this Team USA roster, linking the pair as AmeriCup teammates before their respective moves to the Australian league.
NBA EXPERIENCE
After graduating from Harvard, Robert Baker II competed in the NBA G League, including stints with the Stockton Kings, the Lakeland/Osceola Magic and the College Park Skyhawks. In September 2024, the College Park Skyhawks acquired Bakers G League returning rights from Osceola in a trade that sent Daeqwon Plowdens returning rights and a second-round G League draft pick in the opposite direction.
On October 12, 2024, Baker signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Orlando Magic and was waived on October 16. This transaction did not constitute an NBA regular-season appearance.
In July 2025, Baker joined the Indiana Pacers NBA Summer League roster in Las Vegas. On July 18 he starred in Indianas 113–104 win over the New Orleans Pelicans, recording 26 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks off the bench. The performance concluded a Summer League campaign in which Indiana finished 3–2.
Baker played games in the NBA. He averaged 0 points, 0 rebounds, and 0 assists per game over his NBA career.
NBA TRANSACTIONS:
- October 12, 2024: Signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Orlando Magic.
- October 16, 2024: Waived by the Orlando Magic.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- Slovakia – Iskra Svit (2021) | Puerto Rico – Cariduros de Fajardo (2023) | Japan – Akita Northern Happinets (2023) | Germany – Alba Berlin (2025)
Robert Baker began his professional career in February 2021 with Iskra Svit in the Slovak Basketball League, where he averaged 14.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks across 14 games.
He spent 2021–2023 playing in the G League before signing with Cariduros de Fajardo in Puerto Rico in April 2023, where he averaged 8.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.1 blocks in eight games.
The following season Baker joined Japan’s Akita Northern Happinets, producing 8.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.2 steals over 14 games before departing in December.
After another G League stint, Baker signed with ALBA Berlin in February 2025 for the remainder of the 2024–25 season.
Across 11 appearances for ALBA, Baker averaged 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. His best performance for the club came in a EuroLeague home win over Baskonia, when he recorded 12 points and 7 rebounds.
COLLEGE
In August 2015, Robert Baker committed to Harvard University while attending The Walker School in Marietta, Georgia.
Baker was ranked No. 96 on ESPN's list of leading high school recruits and attracted offers from Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt, among other schools.
He chose Harvard for its academic opportunities and the emerging strength of its basketball program under head coach Tommy Amaker.
Robert Baker played four collegiate seasons at Harvard from 2016–17 through 2019–20, appearing in 99 games with 39 starts across his career while averaging 4.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 14.9 minutes per game, shooting 44.2 percent from the field, 33.5 percent from three-point range, and 77.5 percent from the free-throw line.
During summer 2019, before his senior season at Harvard, Baker completed an internship with the NBA G League business operations department at the NBA's league offices in New York City.
His internship included marketing work, preparing materials for potential partners and reports covering G League teams.
As a senior in the 2019–20 season, Baker started 26 of 29 games and delivered career-best numbers with 7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 22.3 minutes per game, while shooting 47.2 percent from the field, 35.6 percent from deep, and 81.8 percent from the line.
During that senior season, he led the team in scoring four times, rebounding eight times, and assists once, with standout performances including 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting against Massachusetts on December 7, a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds at Yale on February 7, and 18 points with eight rebounds at Brown on February 8.
He also matched his career-high of 13 rebounds against Texas A&M on November 28 and recorded a season-high four blocks on two occasions, with his senior campaign earning him Harvard’s John Harnice ’84 Spirit Award.
As a junior in the 2018–19 season, Baker averaged 4.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game while helping Harvard secure its second straight Ivy League Championship and a berth in the NIT, highlighted by a career-high 13 rebounds at Howard on January 21, four three-pointers and 13 points against Yale on February 1, and a career-high five blocks versus Columbia on February 8.
In his sophomore season during 2017–18, Baker appeared in 22 games with three starts, averaging 2.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, and recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds against St. Joseph’s on November 24 as Harvard won the Ivy League title and returned to the NIT.
As a freshman in the 2016–17 season, he played 22 games and averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.4 minutes per contest, with a season-high eight points against Penn on March 4.
Across his Harvard career from 2016–17 to 2019–20, Baker’s achievements included two Ivy League championships, two NIT appearances, and career highs of 19 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks.
AWARDS
- Harvard John Harnice '84 Spirit Award
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