Return of the King: Mojave returns to Cairns

After starting his NBL career as a Next Star with the Taipans, shooting guard Mojave King now returns to Cairns to bolster the injury-riddled side.

With sad news that Alex Higgins-Titsha's left wrist requires surgery, King is set to replace Higgins-Titsha for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.

The 23-year old continues his fascinating basketball journey in his return to Cairns as he looks to boost the side's perimeter defence and three-point shooting. 

The electric slasher was born in Dunedin, New Zealand before moving to Queensland with his family as a four-year-old, spending most of his youth in Mackay and Brisbane. He has basketball in his genes, as his mom, dad and older sister each have experience playing high-level hoops.

King emerged as one of the most exciting talents in the country through his performances with Queensland state teams and with the NBA Academy —which led him to join the NBL as a Next Star.

His first season in front of the Orange Army he averaged 6.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in over 17 minutes a game in 2020-21. He remained a Next Star with the 36ers for 3.7 points a game in 10.5 minutes the following season.

The gifted guard was selected with the 47th overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, before his draft rights were traded to the Indiana Pacers — becoming just the third New Zealand-born player to be picked in the NBA draft following Sean Marks and Houston Rocket Steven Adams.

He later spent two seasons playing in the NBA G League firstly with the G League Ignite and then more recently with the Indiana Mad Ants. Racking up 45 appearances across two seasons.

King returned to the NBL last season with the New Zealand Breakers, posting a season-high 20 points against his former side, Adelaide.

With a 203cm (6ft 8in) wingspan, he uses his long arms, strong frame and hops to elevate from a standstill to contest and block shots. The Tall Blacks representative is impactful on the perimeter using his length and energy to defend multiple positions.

Cairns will get to see King back in Taipans colours against the Brisbane Bullets on Thursday night at 6:30pm AEST.