Wellington local Izayah Le’afa burst onto the scene for the Mills Albert Wellington Saints as a defensive-minded guard while he was still a schoolboy at St Pat’s.

Since then he’s established himself as one of the country’s elite players, playing for the NZ Breakers and the SE Melbourne Phoenix in the Australian NBL, as well as representing the Tall Blacks at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

This year he’s focused on bringing the NZ NBL title back to Wellington, fighting to earn New Zealand’s first Olympic basketball qualification in 20 years, before heading to the Sydney Kings for the 24/25 ANBL season.