Lachlan Barker named Nominated Replacement

The Kenfrost Homes Cairns Taipans are pleased to welcome Lachlan Barker to the team as a Nominated Replacement Player for the 2025-26 NBL season.

The guard joins the Club after spending the pre-season in Cairns and playing under Taipans Head Coach Adam Forde in the men’s 3x3 international campaign in March.

The Taipans become Barker’s fifth NBL team, after beginning his career as a development player at the Sydney Kings. He spent a season with the South East Melbourne Phoenix as a training player in the 2021-22 season and remained in Melbourne with United the following year.

The Tasmanian joined his hometown team as a replacement player in 2023 and was part of their Championship-winning group alongside two current Taipans teammates, Jack McVeigh and Marcus Lee. He was named to the squad last season, re-signing with the JackJumpers as the Nominated Replacement again.

Barker joined Forde’s Gangurrus for the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup earlier this year, with Alex Higgins-Titsha, Jonah Antonio and Dillon Stith also part of the line-up. Australia faced New Zealand in the final game of the tournament, going on to win the Gold Medal in Singapore.

The 29-year-old has been a staple of the NBL1 competition throughout his basketball career, playing for the Frankston Blues every year since 2021 and making multiple finals appearances. He signed with North West Tasmania for 2025, averaging 18.4 points, 3.7 assists and 3.0 rebounds in his first NBL1 stint in his home state.

This off-season, the 190cm guard led all scorers for a pre-season game (Adelaide 36ers vs NBL1 South Select) with 25 points and appeared in the Taipans’ warmup games in Melbourne and the NBL Blitz in Canberra.

Barker will sub in for Sam Waardenburg (ankle) to start the season, and will suit up for the Taipans’ first game of the season on Saturday 20 September against the South East Melbourne Phoenix.