Kirk first appeared as an 18-year-old for the Tall Blacks in 1999, fresh out of Westlake Boys High School, going on to play 179 games for the Tall Blacks, scoring over 2000 international points at 17.5 points per game – the highest for any player.
He is already a legend at the University of Wisconsin, leading the Badgers to the NCAA final four in 2000 and has the most points by a Kiwi male in men’s NCAA Division one basketball with 1,454.Ìý He would become the second New Zealander behind Sean Marks to play in the NBA when appearing for the Miami Heat in 2003.
A two-time Olympian, 4-time World Championship player and always a scorer when he hit the hardwood.Ìý At the 2010 World Championships in Turkey he opened with 37 points against Lithuania and went on to be the second highest scorer at the tournament with 24.7 per game, just ahead of a bloke called Kevin Durant…Ìý He holds the record for the 4 highest single game scores by a Tall Black, with 42 against Slovenia in 2010 his best.Ìý He was of course part of the famous 2002 world championship roster.
After a pro career that took him around the world, he returned to play for the Breakers, helping the club win their first championship in 2011, with the highlights including dropping 49 points on Adelaide in 2010, and 38 points on Perth to defeat them in the semi finals of that 2011 championship winning season.
