Players
Sam Waardenburg
Sam Waardenburg
2023 Averages
11.0
PPG
2.7
APG
5.6
RPG
43
FG%

Biography
The New Zealand big man had a standout first season in the NBL at the Cairns Taipans providing himself a standout shooter for someone his size as he now prepares to take a further step forward in NBL24.
The now 6'10 24-year-old grew up in Auckland and after being MVP for Rangitoto when they won the SAS Secondary Schools National Championship, he began his journey at the University of Miami which was a great success both in terms of basketball and academically.
The best of his four seasons with the Hurricanes was as a sixth year redshirt senior when he delivered 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds a game while shooting the three ball at 41.8 per cent and going at 52.8 overall from the field.
While at Miami, he also earned his bachelor's degree majoring in geography with a minor in sociology, before adding a master's in sports administration and undertaking a second master's in liberal studies.
On the back of that, he started his professional career in the NBL with Cairns and was tremendous winning the Next Gen Award, replacing the Rookie of the Year, on the back of averaging 11.3 points and 5.6 rebounds while proving himself a terrific shooter for someone at his size and position.