Nick Kay

Nicholas Colin Kay (born 3 August 1992) is an Australian professional basketball player for Real Betis of the Liga ACB. He is also a member of the Australian national team.

Nick Kay
Kay in March 2019
No. 3 – Coosur Real Betis
PositionPower forward / Centre
LeagueLiga ACB
Personal information
Born (1992-08-03) 3 August 1992
NationalityAustralian
Listed height206 cm (6 ft 9 in)
Listed weight106 kg (234 lb)
Career information
High schoolNewington College
(Stanmore, New South Wales)
CollegeMetro State (2011–2015)
NBA draft2015 / Undrafted
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2014–2015Northside Wizards
2015–2016Townsville Crocodiles
2016–2017Southland Sharks
2016–2018Illawarra Hawks
2018–2020Perth Wildcats
2019Wellington Saints
2020–presentReal Betis
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Australia
Commonwealth Games
2018 Gold Coast Team competition
FIBA Asia Cup
2017 Lebanon

Early life

Kay grew up in Tamworth, New South Wales, and at aged 17, he moved to Sydney to attend Newington College, where he was selected to the Australian under 19s team.[1]

College career

Kay played college basketball in the United States for the Metropolitan State University of Denver from 2011 to 2015. Teaming up with countryman Mitch McCarron, Kay helped lead the Roadrunners to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments and a national runner-up finish in 2013.[2] Kay was twice named first-team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and in 2014 was Most Valuable Player of the RMAC Tournament.

Professional career

In 2014 and 2015, Kay played in the Queensland Basketball League for the Northside Wizards.[3][4]

In July 2015, Kay signed with the Townsville Crocodiles.[4] He appeared in all 28 games for the Crocs in 2015–16 and ranked top-20 in the NBL for minutes played (28.11 per game). He averaged 10.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, while scoring in double figures on 16 occasions, recording three double-doubles and finishing as the league leader in offensive rebounding (3.0).[5] He was subsequently named NBL Rookie of the Year.[5]

After a stint in New Zealand with the Southland Sharks,[6] Kay joined the Illawarra Hawks ahead of the 2016–17 NBL season.[7] He helped the Hawks reach the grand final in 2017 and then returned to the Sharks for a second season.[8][9]

On 20 April 2018, after two seasons with the Illawarra Hawks, Kay signed a three-year deal with the Perth Wildcats.[10] In February 2019, he became just the 12th Wildcat to be named in the All-NBL First Team.[11] In March 2019, he won his first NBL championship as a member of the Wildcats.[12][13]

On 9 April 2019, Kay signed with the Wellington Saints for the 2019 New Zealand NBL season.[14]

With the Wildcats in 2019–20, Kay was named to the All-NBL First Team for the second straight year[15] and helped the team return to the NBL Grand Final. In game three of the grand final series against the Sydney Kings, Kay had a career-best game with 30 points and seven 3-pointers to go with 12 rebounds and four assists in a 111–96 win.[16][17]

On 4 May 2020, Kay opted out of the final year of his contract with the Wildcats to pursue international opportunities after the NBL implemented salary cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]

On 5 July 2020, Kay signed with Real Betis of the Liga ACB.[19]

National team career

After playing for Australia's youth teams previously, Kay was named to the Australian national team for the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup.[20][21] In 2018, he won a gold medal with Australia at the Commonwealth Games. In February 2021, Kay was named in the Boomers' Olympic squad.[22]

References
  1. Newsam, Samantha (5 April 2018). "Faces of Tamworth: Commonwealth Games representative Nick Kay". northerndailyleader.com.au. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  2. "Catching up Down Under". Metro State Roadrunners. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  3. Athanasopoulos, Chris (2 May 2014). "QBL Men Round 1 Preview". pickandroll.com.au. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  4. "Crocodiles sign young gun Nick Kay". NBL.com.au. 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015.
  5. "Crocs young gun Nick Kay wins Rookie of the Year". NBL.com.au. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  6. "Southland Sharks sign Australian Nick Kay for National Basketball League season". Stuff.co.nz. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  7. Slatter, Trent (22 May 2016). "Former Townsville Crocs forward Nick Kay signs with Illawarra Hawks". Townsville Bulletin. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  8. "Southland Sharks re-sign Australian duo for 2017 National Basketball League season". Stuff.co.nz. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  9. Huntsdale, Justin (24 February 2017). "Resilient Illawarra Hawks prove pundits wrong to make NBL grand final". abc.net.au. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  10. "Perth Wildcats sign Aussie Boomer Nick Kay". Wildcats.com.au. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  11. "All-Star Nick Kay turns focus to Finals". Wildcats.com.au. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  12. "Wildcats Clinch Ninth Championship on the Road". NBL.com.au. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  13. "Wildcats claim Ninth Championship!". Wildcats.com.au. 17 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  14. Hylsop, Liam (9 April 2019). "Wellington Saints sign in-form Australian Boomer Nick Kay for NZ NBL season". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  15. Gilhooly, Daniel (16 February 2020). "NBL award winners announced". ESPN. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  16. "Perth Wildcats one win away from championship". Wildcats.com.au. 15 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  17. "Career-best Kay Puts Wildcats up 2-1 Over Kings". NBL.com.au. 15 March 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  18. Garlepp, Josh (4 May 2020). "Perth forward Nick Kay follows Bryce Cotton and opts-out of final year at Wildcats". Perth Now. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  19. "Real Betis tab Nick Kay, ex Wildcats". Sportando. 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  20. Cohen, Mitch (19 July 2016). "Tamworth product Nick Kay in line to make national squad for FIBA Asia Cup". Northern Daily Leader. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  21. Uluc, Olgun (24 July 2017). "Australian Boomers team announced for 2017 FIBA Asia Cup". Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  22. "AUSTRALIAN MEN'S BASKETBALL OLYMPIC SQUAD REVEALED". australia.basketball. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
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