2022-2023 NBL Depth Charts
February 7, 2023
Tai Webster
- Nationality: NZL
- Date of Birth: 29/05/95
- Place of Birth: Auckland (New Zealand)
- Position: GRD
- Height (CM): 193
- Weight (KG): 89
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Nebraska (2013–2017)
- NBL DEBUT: 16/11/12
- AGE AT DEBUT: 17
- LAST NBL GAME: 13/03/24
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 28
- NBL History: New Zealand 2013, 2021 | Perth 2023-24
- Championships: 1
- New Zealand (2013)
NICKNAME/S: The Grown Man
BIO: Born in Auckland, Tai Jack Webster attended Westlake Boys High School where he led them to the National Secondary Schools Basketball Championships in October 2012, scoring 24 points en route to garnering tournament MVP honours.
While attending Westlake, he played basketball for the North Harbour juniors; from 2010 to 2012, he played for the North Harbour U17s, U19s and U21s.
In August 2012, Webster joined the New Zealand Breakers as a development player for the 2012/13 NBL season. At 16 years of age, Tai Webster remains one of the youngest players to have ever played in the NBL.
FAMILY: Tai’s brother, Corey Webster also played 287 games in the NBL. Webster is the son of Tony and Cherry Webster. Tony was a standout athlete in his own right, earning first team All-WAC honours at Hawaii in 1983 and ranking fourth on Hawaii’s career steals list before playing professionally in New Zealand.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Tai Webster made his NBL debut with the New Zealand Breakers at 17 years of age. He went scoreless in his first NBL game.
Webster signed a development player contract with the Breakers for 2012/13. During the season he signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball at the University of Nebraska. Webster won a NBL championship in his first NBL season (as a development player) in 2012/13.
Whilst a member of the Breakers Webster (1 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 0.7 assists) was a part of the team extending their longest winning streak record to 15 straight games and winning the NBL title against Perth. The Breakers would make history this finals run, becoming the first team to deliver a clean sweep en-route to the championship.
2020/21
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020/21 season start date was delayed until January 2021. As a result of the pandemic, the Breakers were forced to commit to being based in Australia for the majority of the season. They hosted a number of games as the ‘home’ team in Tasmania and only returned to play their last seven games in New Zealand in late May.
New Zealand had added Brisbane Bullets star import Lamar Patterson and Colton Iverson as import players, while Tai Webster returned to the team, having left in 2013 to play college ball for Nebraska. The Breakers suffered another blow when its leading scorer Corey Webster sliced a nerve in his hand while cutting a avocado with a knife in his kitchen and would miss the first month of the season.
As would be expected from a team playing their first 29 games on the road, wins were few and far between. After narrowly losing to Adelaide in overtime in their first game, they would win only one game (a six-point win over Cairns) in the first eight contests. The sluggish start saw New Zealand release Lamar Patterson (10.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists), who had injured his knee against the Hawks on February 22 after just six games. In his previous two seasons with the Bullets, Patterson had averaged 19.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists and twice been named a NBL First Team All-Star, but his form for the Breakers was far from his previous stints in the NBL.
With Patterson sidelined, New Zealand added Jeremy Kendle as a short-term replacement and saw a marked improvement, going 3-1 over the next four games.
Due to losing numerous players to injury and personal issues throughout the season, Robert Loe (20 games), Thomas Abercrombie (9), Corey Webster (8) and Tai Webster (7), the team added Australian guard William McDowell-White (7.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 5 assists) as a nominated replacement player for the injured Corey Webster (13.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists) and Levi Randolph (14.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.1 steals), who signed as Patterson’s replacement, resulting the release of Kendle as well.
The Breakers sat at the bottom of the ladder on a 4-9 record after their first 13 games prior to the roster changes, which made little difference in the win/loss column. The team also losing five of its next six games. Whilst Webster returned from his hand injury In February, on March 13, he was ruled out again, this time a knee injury keeping him out for four weeks. Tai then suffered a Achilles injury (9 April 2021) and he was ruled out for four weeks.
The Breakers’ faced additional adversity with COVID-19 forcing them to continually move from city to city, attempting to find places where there was limited COVID impact to be able to play their remaining games. A COVID-19 window saw the team able to return home and play their remaining seven games in New Zealand, where they went 3-4 to finish the season.
Tai Webster (17.2 points, 5 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.2 steals) would lead the team in scoring alongside Finn Delany (16.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists), who delivered a breakout season and was named club MVP after boosting his scoring from 12 points per game the previous season. The Breakers finished second last with a 12-24 record.
2021/22
On 11 July 2021, Webster re-signed with the Breakers on a two-year deal. However after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine and therefor unable to travel to Australia, the Breakers and Webster agreed to a mutual release on 20 September 2021. Webster then signed to play with Lithuanian club Žalgiris Kaunas on November 2, 2021. It is understood to be the first case of a Kiwi professional athlete being unable to fulfil his contract because of a vaccination decision.
PERTH WILDCATS
2022/23
After leaving his team in Turkey mid-season, Perth added Webster to their roster with six games remaining in the regular season, reuniting him with his brother Corey.
“Obviously a big drawing card was to play with Corey again, but I’m no stranger to the success of the Perth Wildcats, I want to win another NBL title and there would be no better place to do it than at Perth.” said Webster upon inking the deal with Perth.
Perth Wildcats head coach John Rillie noted adding Webster was a step in the right direction.
“When you have the ability to add a good, talented local player to your NBL roster it’s always something you have to visit, any time you can add talent is a good thing,” he said.
we’re adding a dynamic playmaker. You can see over the last month our team is really finding a nice groove and Tai will add another dimension to that in our back-court, and also relieve some of the scoring burden off some of our other players as well.”
Following the signing of Tai Webster, Corey Shervill was released from the Wildcat’s 11-man roster.
The team’s final three games saw them lose to Tasmania (102–94) after allowing the JackJumpers to outscore them 27-15 across the final 10 minutes. A crucial loss to Cairns Taipans (84-71) set up a nail-biting last round where another Perth loss would see United finish sixth and the Wildcat’s eliminated from Finals or a Perth win allowing them to advance to the postseason.
While the Kings were able to lock down Cotton (7 points), Perth got big games out of Corey Webster (26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists), Luke Travers (22 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists) and Brady Manek (21 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals) to deliver a upset victory (96-84) against the league leading Kings.
The win saw Perth (15-13) claim sixth place on the ladder and advance into the league’s inaugural play-in tournament. There, they would face South East Melbourne in a game where they trailed the entire game until the fourth quarter. During the final term, the Wildcat’s outscored the Phoenix (41-23) and moved on the second round of the play-in tournament, on the back of a seven-point win (106-99). Perth then met Cairns in a game where the winner would advance to the semi finals as the fourth seed.
Although Cairns entered the game without their leading scorer and rebounder Keanu Pinder, a history making effort from DJ Hogg (32 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists) delivered the end to the Wildcats’ season. Hogg would record the most points ever by a Taipan in the playoffs, defeating the Wildcats (78-91) in the process.
Webster played in 8 games for the Wildcats and averaged 7.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists.
2023/24
After an injury-interrupted start to the season, Webster returned to the starting line-up mid-way through the season and was a huge factor in the Wildcats’ stunning turnaround. After a 2-5 start, Perth won 13 of their next 15 games with the New Zealander at the forefront. In one particular three-game stretch in January, Webster averaged 18.7 points, five assists and 1.7 steals, while shooting at 68.6 per cent from the field and 41.7 per cent from the three-point arc.
He formed an exciting back-court combination with superstar Bryce Cotton, who this season earned his fourth NBL MVP Trophy.
In his first full season at the Wildcats after joining late in NBL23, the New Zealand Tall Black averaged 8.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.9 steals per game, while shooting at 46 per cent from the field. He finished fourth in the Wildcats’ Gordon Ellis Medal MVP voting behind Cotton, Keanu Pinder and Kristian Doolittle.
Tai Webster currently plays for the Perth Wildcats and has played 71 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 11.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists since entering the league in 2012.
CURRENT CONTRACT:
Perth Wildcats – 2 Year Deal (2022-24)
2nd Year Team Option
HIGHLIGHTS:
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 28 | Perth | 17-11 (2) | 28 | 652.9 | 250 | 77 | 75 | 22 | 55 | 24 | 4 | 39 | 91 | 99 | 217 | 46% | 18 | 62 | 29.0% | 34 | 56 | 61% | 51% | 50% | 20 |
| 2022-23 | 27 | Perth | 15-13 (6) | 8 | 147.3 | 56 | 20 | 23 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 26 | 22 | 60 | 37% | 6 | 18 | 33.3% | 6 | 11 | 55% | 43% | 42% | 11 |
| 2020-21 | 26 | New Zealand | 12-24 (8) | 29 | 908.0 | 498 | 145 | 142 | 27 | 118 | 35 | 9 | 100 | 91 | 188 | 455 | 41% | 58 | 153 | 37.9% | 64 | 111 | 58% | 49% | 48% | 34 |
| 2012-13 | 17 | New Zealand | 24-4 (1) | 6 | 19.1 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 33% | 1 | 3 | 33.3% | 1 | 2 | 50% | 43% | 0% | 3 | Totals | 71 | 1727 | 810 | 245 | 244 | 61 | 184 | 64 | 13 | 154 | 210 | 311 | 738 | 42.1% | 83 | 236 | 35.2% | 105 | 180 | 58.3% | 50% | 48% | 34 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 28 | Perth | 17-11 (2) | 28 | 23.3 | 8.9 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 7.8 | 46% | 0.6 | 2.2 | 29.0% | 1.2 | 2.0 | 61% | 51% | 50% | 20 |
| 2022-23 | 27 | Perth | 15-13 (6) | 8 | 18.4 | 7.0 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 7.5 | 37% | 0.8 | 2.3 | 33.3% | 0.8 | 1.4 | 55% | 43% | 42% | 11 |
| 2020-21 | 26 | New Zealand | 12-24 (8) | 29 | 31.3 | 17.2 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 0.9 | 4.1 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 6.5 | 15.7 | 41% | 2.0 | 5.3 | 37.9% | 2.2 | 3.8 | 58% | 49% | 48% | 34 |
| 2012-13 | 17 | New Zealand | 24-4 (1) | 6 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 33% | 0.2 | 0.5 | 33.3% | 0.2 | 0.3 | 50% | 43% | 0% | 3 | Total | 71 | 24.3 | 11.4 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 4.4 | 10.4 | 42.1% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 35.2% | 1.2 | 3.3 | 58.3% | 50% | 48% | 34 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 34 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
|---|
FIBA EXPERIENCE
In 2012 Webster made his national team debut as a 17 year old, representing New Zealand at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament (Venezuela), where he averaged 13.5 points per game.
Webster was selected to play for the Tall Blacks at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain. There, New Zealand (3-2) advanced to the second round of the tournament where they were eliminated by Lithuania (71-76). Corey Webster (13.7 ppg) and Kirk Penney (10.8 ppg) would lead the team in scoring as New Zealand finished 15th overall.
He also represented New Zealand at 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Webster was selected for New Zealands 2019 FIBA World Cup squad in what was a rebuilding year for the Tall Blacks with legends Kirk Penney, Mika Vukona, Phil Jones and Pero Cameron all being retired since the teams previous World Cup campaign. New Zealand opened their campaign with a loss to Brazil (94–102), a win over Montenegro (83–93) and a second loss to Greece (97–103) which then eliminated them from medal contention. The Tall Blacks, led by Tais brother, Corey Webster (22.8 ppg and 5.6 apg), would beat Japan (111–81) and Turkey (102–101) in the classification games to finish in nineteenth place.
FIBA TOTAL STATISTICS
| YEAR | AGE | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 24 | 5 | 137 | 67 | 20 | 24 | 1 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 55 | 43.6% | 4 | 21 | 19.0% | 15 | 20 | 75.0% |
| 2014 | 19 | 6 | 130 | 32 | 18 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 35 | 37.1% | 1 | 11 | 9.1% | 5 | 5 | 100.0% | Total | 11 | 267 | 99 | 38 | 33 | 5 | 33 | 25 | 21 | 16 | 18 | 37 | 90 | 41% | 5 | 32 | 16% | 20 | 25 | 80% |
FIBA PER GAME STATISTICS
| YEAR | AGE | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 24 | 5 | 27.4 | 13.4 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 0.2 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 4.8 | 11.0 | 43.6% | 0.8 | 4.2 | 19.0% | 3.0 | 4.0 | 75.0% |
| 2014 | 19 | 6 | 21.7 | 5.3 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 5.8 | 37.1% | 0.2 | 1.8 | 9.1% | 0.8 | 0.8 | 100.0% | Total | 11 | 24.3 | 9.0 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 3.4 | 8.2 | 41% | 0.5 | 2.9 | 16% | 1.8 | 2.3 | 80% |
NBA EXPERIENCE
After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, Webster played for the Golden State Warriors during the 2017 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
- New Zealand - Auckland (2012), Waikato (2013), Otago (2023-2024)
In 2012, Webster played for the Auckland Pirates, where in two games, he recorded a total of two points and two assists. The Pirates went on to win the 2012 championship with a 89–83 win over the Wellington Saints in the grand final.
In April 2013, Webster signed with the Waikato Pistons for the 2013 New Zealand NBL season. In 15 games for the Waikato Pistons, he averaged 18.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
After a NBA try-out in 2017 he signed with the Skyliners Frankfurt in Germany for the 2017/18 season with a option for the 2018/19 season as well. He posted 14.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game in his first season as a pro.
On 7 August 2018, Webster signed with the Turkish team Galatasaray. He played a second year with the team in 2019-20. Webster began the 2022/23 season with Turkish team Petkim Spor before leaving the team to sign with the Perth Wildcats mid-season. During his time in the Turkish Basketball Super League he averaged 8.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.
Webster played for the Otago Nuggets in New Zealand in 2023. He appeaed in 6 games and averaged 21 points, 6 assists and 7.3 rebounds.
COLLEGE
Recruited to Nebraska by former NBL guard Chris Harriman. Webster has said that when he was first recruited by Nebraska he "had never even heard of the place".
As a freshman for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2013/14, Webster was a immediate contributor, averaging 3.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 32 games (30 starts) while helping the Huskers reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. He led Nebraska with 63 assists and was also among the team leaders in steals. Webster reached double figures four times, including a season-high 14 points against Georgia, and paced the squad in assists eight times. His season-best was five assists on three occasions.
As a sophomore in 2014/15, Webster emerged as one of the first Huskers off the bench, backing-up starting guards Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. He fell out of the rotation early in Big Ten play but found a role as the Huskers' energy guy off the bench and his improved defense showed in other facets of his game. In 30 games (four starts), he averaged 3.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 18.4 minutes per game. Webster called the season "hugely disappointing" since his work in practice did not translate to higher production than as a freshman.
As a junior in 2015/16, Webster joined the Nebraska starting lineup. He averaged 10.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 27.7 minutes per game.
As a senior in 2016/17, Webster averaged 17.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 34.7 minutes per game. He finished fourth in the Big Ten in scoring, fifth in steals (1.4 per game) and eighth in assists. He also became the fourth player in NU history to score 500 points and record 100 assists in a season.
Leading up to the NBA draft, many thought Webster could be a "second-round sleeper."
Related
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