BIO: Sam Timmins was born in Dunedin, NZ and was following his father’s footsteps as a rugby union player before taking basketball seriously at Middleton Grange High School.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Sam Timmins made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 24 years of age. He scored seven points in his first game.

The New Zealand Breakers entered NBL22 after playing 29 of their 36 games in Australia the previous season and were again unable to stage any home games. Corey Webster (to Egypt) and Tai Webster (to Lithuania) departed, with the Breakers building around William McDowell-White and adding Yanni Wetzell (via South East Melbourne), Peyton Siva (via Berlin), Hugo Besson (via France), Jeremiah Martin (via Cleveland) and Next Star Ousmane Dieng (via France).

Sam Timmins joined New Zealand on a one-year development-player contract with a club option after producing 20.6 points and 14.2 rebounds for the Otago Nuggets during the New Zealand NBL season.
“The Breakers are a New Zealand team playing against Australians, and I’ve always wanted to be part of the organisation,” said Timmins.

Timmins made his NBL debut against Melbourne United at John Cain Arena on December 19 and finished with 7 points and 4 rebounds in 15 minutes. Delany (14 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Wetzell (12 points and 4 rebounds) led New Zealand, while Chris Goulding (21 points) led Melbourne to an 83-60 victory.

Timmins (3.3 points across 15 games) remained a development player and provided frontcourt depth behind Wetzell, Robert Loe and Galloway. He did not suffer a reported injury or illness during the season, with his 13 games outside the playing rotation resulting from his development-player role rather than a medical absence.

His best game came against Illawarra at MyState Bank Arena on March 1, where Wetzell was unavailable with back spasms, Loe was representing the Tall Blacks, McDowell-White was completing concussion protocols and Dieng remained sidelined with a wrist injury. Timmins (9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals) made four of his eight field-goal attempts as New Zealand lost 102-87, with Besson (20 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Galloway (16 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 block) leading the Breakers, while Jessup (23 points, 3 steals, and 2 blocks) was Illawarra’s best.

Early injuries to Siva and Abercrombie, combined with the club’s COVID-19 outbreak, resulted in Randle (via Orlando) joining as an injury replacement as New Zealand began the season 0-6. Siva (11.8 points, 4.9 assists, and 2 steals) eventually returned, with the Breakers releasing Martin (12.3 points and 3.6 assists) and retaining Randle (7.8 points) for the remainder of the season. Continuing border restrictions also prevented New Zealand from returning to Auckland, leaving the team based primarily in Tasmania.

Wetzell (17.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.5 steals) led the Breakers in scoring and rebounding before being released (to Spain) to join Baskonia and was later named club MVP. His departure allowed Timmins to be elevated into Wetzell’s contracted roster position for the remainder of the season. Besson (13.9 points and 3.9 rebounds), Delany (10 points and 5.6 rebounds) and Dieng (8.9 points and 3.2 rebounds) were New Zealand’s other major contributors.

Timmins finished the season against Adelaide at MyState Bank Arena on April 24, recording 6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal as the Breakers lost 93-60. Randle (14 points, 1 steal, and 1 block) and Bach (14 points and 1 steal) led New Zealand, while Dech (19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals) led Adelaide as the Breakers suffered their tenth consecutive loss and finished tenth with a franchise-worst 5-23 record.

2022/23
After finishing the previous season at the bottom of the ladder with a 5-23 record, New Zealand promoted assistant Mody Maor to replace Dan Shamir as head coach. Yanni Wetzell, Hugo Besson, Peyton Siva (to Illawarra), Finn Delany, Ousmane Dieng and Chasson Randle departed, with Maor adding Tom Vodanovich (via Sydney), Izayah Le’Afa and Cameron Gliddon (both via South East Melbourne), imports Dererk Pardon, Jarrell Brantley and Barry Brown Jr and French Next Star Rayan Rupert.

Sam Timmins re-signed and returned as a development player, providing additional frontcourt depth behind Pardon and Robert Loe.

Timmins (11 games) remained outside New Zealand’s main rotation, appearing in eight regular-season games and three postseason games while making all six of his field-goal attempts.

His best game came against Brisbane at Spark Arena on November 27, where Timmins (4 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block) made both of his field-goal attempts during 12 minutes as New Zealand defeated the Bullets 116-79. Brantley (29 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block) and Le’Afa (21 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals) led the Breakers, while Tanner Krebs (19 points) was Brisbane’s leading scorer.

Timmins (3 points and 1 rebound) also appeared during the semifinal opener against Tasmania at Spark Arena, where Pardon (15 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks) and William McDowell-White (13 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists) led New Zealand to an 88-68 victory, while Rashard Kelly (12 points and 4 rebounds) was Tasmania’s leading scorer.

Game two of the Championship Series moved to Spark Arena, where Timmins (0 points and 1 steal) played the final 32 seconds as Brown Jr (21 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals) and Brantley (20 points and 6 rebounds) led New Zealand, but Kouat Noi (20 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals) and Dejan Vasiljevic (16 points and 4 rebounds) carried Sydney to an 81-74 victory.

Timmins’ final appearance came in game three at Qudos Bank Arena, where Timmins (0 points and 1 block) played two minutes as Sydney defeated New Zealand 91-68 behind Vasiljevic (15 points and 4 rebounds), Tim Soares (14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks) and Derrick Walton Jr (12 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists), while McDowell-White (11 points and 6 rebounds) led the Breakers before Sydney won the series in five games.

2023/24
Timmins joined the back-to-back champion Kings (via New Zealand) on a one-year deal as Sydney’s 13th rostered player, providing frontcourt depth behind Jordan Hunter and Jonah Bolden. A calf strain suffered before the NBL Blitz delayed the start of his season and kept him out of the opening rounds.

“Anytime an organisation has won back-to-back championships, you know as a player you’re joining a club that approaches things the right way, which is really exciting,” Timmins said.

Timmins’ best game came against his former team New Zealand on January 14, where Timmins (0 points and 1 assist) played just over a minute as Sydney won 105-76 behind Adams (39 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Valentine (23 points and 5 assists), while Izayah Le’Afa (15 points) led the Breakers.

Timmins (0 points across 3 games) saw only brief court time after returning from injury and did not take the court when Sydney’s season ended with an 83-76 Play-In Qualifier loss to New Zealand.

Sam Timmins played three seasons in the NBL, playing for both the New Zealand Breakers and the Sydney Kings. He averaged 2.2 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.2 assists in 29 NBL games.