It is something he never thought about, but for the first time in his 84-game international career, Jordan Ngatai will lead the New Zealand Tall Blacks into battle after being named captain of the side for the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup.
Colloquially dubbed, 鈥楾he Prince of Porirua鈥�, Ngatai made his debut in the black singlet almost 12 years ago to the day, July 27th against China, aged 20.
Now with 84 games in the black singlet underneath his belt, it鈥檚 no secret that Ngatai鈥檚 mana within the Tall Blacks camp is held in incredibly high regard.
鈥淚 think Jordan is really somebody that when you talk about a Tall Black player, when you talk about Tall Black values, how a Tall Black conducts himself on the day-to-day, this guy is everything that a Tall Black should be.鈥�
For Coach Judd Flavell, it was an easy decision to hand Ngatai the captaincy.
鈥淗e鈥檚 just a great professional and somebody that has the ability to connect with people from all backgrounds and ages. Jordan鈥檚 got the persona about him where he has the mana but is also very approachable. So yeah, really excited for Jordan and it鈥檚 something I know he鈥檒l take pride in fulfilling.鈥�
A humble character by nature, the Tall Black veteran has just finished a Sal鈥檚 NBL season that saw him be a huge part in leading his hometown Wellington Saints to yet another grand final, in search for his fifth New Zealand League championship.
But the honour of being named Tall Black captain was never one he really thought about.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge honour for not only myself, but for my family. Honestly, I don鈥檛 think I would have imagined myself being the captain of my national team 鈥� let alone one of the veterans to last this long in a Tall Black singlet as well. So, I think that in itself is an honour and I鈥檓 grateful for it.鈥�
Ngatai follows in the footsteps of some great leaders and fellow teammates who鈥檝e carried the distinguished honour in the past.
鈥淭here have been a lot of great leaders that have come through the Tall Blacks, and I鈥檝e been fortunate enough to learn from them. You always have Mika who always comes to mind, being coached by Pauli and Pero 鈥� the most recent captain Reuben Te Rangi, so I鈥檝e always had great leaders around me to kind of show me what needs to be done.鈥�
A lot of what those aforementioned legends of Tall Black basketball have done is build and nurture the culture that is seemingly interwoven in every single thread of each black singlet that is stitched together and donned by players.
Something that the new skipper is keen to continue to tap into.
鈥淚 feel like when most people talk about New Zealand sport teams, or just New Zealand in general, it鈥檚 always coming down to culture.
听I think for the Tall Blacks especially, we base ourselves off the culture. It helps us compete and also beat teams with how close and connected we are with not only the team that we鈥檙e with, but also the past, the present and the future . It鈥檚 a big part of who we are as Tall Blacks.鈥�
The Mana College alum will lead a strong 12-man squad into the FIBA Asia Cup, as will also take the captaincy armband during the Tall Blacks pre-tournament games in the FIBA Solidarity Cup and Four Nations Tournament, both of which will be held in China before the team touches down in Jeddah.
Whilst winning is always at the forefront of everybody’s mind, success in his eyes goes a little further beyond the numbers in a box score.
鈥淗onestly I think success can be shown in multiple ways. Obviously we want to win and do the best we can at Asia Cup. That鈥檚 one part of the success.
But also I think it鈥檚 just helping the younger generations come through as well. I know when I ws coming through, I had a lot of older veteran guys around me to show me what and what not to do. And for me, I just want to lead more by actions and giving the confidence to the younger guys or the debutants on the team to not hesitate to speak up and ask questions and understand that this is a learning journey for all of us.
So yeah, I think for me, it鈥檚 just making myself available for anyone that wants and needs help, but also trying to put wins on the table as well.鈥�
Jordan鈥檚 first opportunity to do that comes during the FIBA Solidarity Cup, where the team will take on Brazil on the 26th of July.
New Zealand Tall Blacks Squad 鈥� FIBA Asia Cup 2025
C – Jack Andrew*听(Taranaki Airs),听debutant
G – Taylor Britt听(Canterbury Rams & New Zealand Breakers),听34 games
G – Flynn Cameron听(Franklin Bulls & Adelaide 36ers),听28 games
F – Max Darling听(Canterbury Rams & New Zealand Breakers),听9 games
F 鈥� Carlin Davison听(Taranaki Airs & New Zealand Breakers),听4 games
F 鈥� Ben Gold听(Marquette University),听7 games (ONLY FOR FIBA ASIA CUP)
G 鈥� Mojave King*听(Tauranga Whai),听debutant
G/F 鈥� Taine Murray听(Brisbane Bullets),听10 games
G/F 鈥� Jordan Ngatai听(Wellington Saints),听84 games
G 鈥� Dontae Russo-Nance*听(Manawat奴 Jets),听debutant
F/C 鈥� Tohi Smith-Milner听(Canterbury Rams & Brisbane Bullets),听69 games
New Zealand Tall Blacks Squad additions 鈥� FIBA Solidarity Cup & Four Nations
F 鈥� Jordan Hunt听(Franklin Bulls & Surrey 89ers),听12 games
G 鈥� Hayden Jones听(Nelson Giants & University of Wisconsin),听1 game
C 鈥� Luca Yates*听(Hawke鈥檚 Bay Hawks & Illawarra Hawks),听debutant
FIBA Solidarity Cup (Guangdong, China)
26th July 听听听听听听听听听听 Tall Blacks v Brazil
27th July 听听听听听听听听听听 Tall Blacks v Guangdong
28th July 听听听听听听听听听听 Tall Blacks v Montenegro
Four Nations Tournament (Shenzhen, China)
30th July听听听听听听听听听听听 Tall Blacks v Brazil
31st July听听听听听听听听听听听 Tall Blacks v TBC
FIBA Asia Cup 2025 (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
5th August听听听听听听 Tall Blacks v Iraq
8th August听听听听听听 Tall Blacks v Philippines
10th August听听听听 Tall Blacks v Chinese Taipei
