Tai Webster

Tai Jack Webster (born 29 May 1995) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League (NBL). Prior to playing college basketball in the United States, Webster won a New Zealand NBL championship with the Auckland Pirates in 2012 and an Australian NBL championship with the Breakers in 2013 as a development player. He played four college seasons for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earning second-team All-Big Ten as a senior in 2017. He played professionally in Germany and Turkey between 2017 and 2020.

Tai Webster
Webster with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2017
No. 0 – New Zealand Breakers
PositionPoint guard / Shooting guard
LeagueNBL
Personal information
Born (1995-05-29) 29 May 1995
Auckland, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High schoolWestlake Boys
(Auckland, New Zealand)
CollegeNebraska (2013–2017)
NBA draft2017 / Undrafted
Playing career2012–present
Career history
2012Auckland Pirates
2012–2013New Zealand Breakers
2013Waikato Pistons
2017–2018Skyliners Frankfurt
2018–2020Galatasaray
2020–presentNew Zealand Breakers
Career highlights and awards

Early career

Born in Auckland, Webster attended Westlake Boys High School where he led them to the National Secondary Schools Basketball Championships in October 2012, scoring 24 points en route to garnering tournament MVP honours. While attending Westlake, he played basketball for the North Harbour juniors; from 2010 to 2012, he played for the North Harbour U17s, U19s and U21s.

In 2012, Webster played for the Auckland Pirates, where in two games, he recorded a total of two points and two assists.[1] The Pirates went on to win the 2012 championship with an 89–83 win over the Wellington Saints in the grand final.[2]

In August 2012, Webster joined the New Zealand Breakers as a non-contracted development player for the 2012–13 NBL season.[3] In December 2012, he signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.[4]

In April 2013, Webster signed with the Waikato Pistons for the 2013 New Zealand NBL season.[5] In 15 games for Waikato, he averaged 18.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.0 steals per game.[1] He had never heard of Nebraska when he was recruited, but signed with the team anyway.[6]

College career

Freshman year

As a freshman for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2013–14, Webster was an immediate contributor, averaging 3.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 32 games (30 starts) while helping the Huskers reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. He led Nebraska with 63 assists and was also among the team leaders in steals. Webster reached double figures four times, including a season-high 14 points against Georgia, and paced the squad in assists eight times. His season-best was five assists on three occasions.[7]

Sophomore year

As a sophomore in 2014–15, Webster emerged as one of the first Huskers off the bench, backing-up starting guards Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. He fell out of the rotation early in Big Ten play but found a role as the Huskers' energy guy off the bench and his improved defense showed in other facets of his game. In 30 games (four starts), he averaged 3.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.4 minutes per game.[7] Webster called the season "hugely disappointing" since his work in practice did not translate to higher production than as a freshman.[6]

Junior year

As a junior in 2015-16, Webster joined the Nebraska starting lineup. He averaged 10.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 27.7 minutes per game.[6]

Senior year
Webster warming up with the Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2017

As a senior in 2016-17, Webster averaged 17.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 34.7 minutes per game. Leading up to the NBA draft, many thought Webster could be a "second-round sleeper."[8]

College statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013–14 Nebraska 323022.8.304.171.6192.12.00.80.13.9
2014–15 Nebraska 30418.4.358.231.7371.91.20.70.13.9
2015–16 Nebraska 341827.7.474.350.7404.11.91.40.410.1
2016–17 Nebraska 313134.7.421.294.7445.14.01.40.117.0
Career 1278325.9.414.279.7153.32.31.00.28.8

Professional career

Webster went undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft. He joined the Golden State Warriors for the 2017 Las Vegas NBA Summer League.

He signed with Skyliners Frankfurt in Germany for the 2017-2018 season.[9] He posted 14.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game in his rookie season.

Webster signed with the Turkish team Galatasaray on 7 August 2018.[10] On 7 August 2019, Webster renewed his contract with the Turkish club for two (1+1) more seasons.

On 15 July 2020, Webster returned to the NBL and New Zealand and signed a one-year contract with the New Zealand Breakers.[11]

International career

Webster represented New Zealand in the 2012 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament where he averaged 13.5 points per game. On 19 August 2014, he was named in the Tall Blacks' twelve-man squad for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[12]

Personal

Webster is the son of Tony and Cherry Webster. Tony was a standout athlete in his own right, earning first team All-WAC honors at Hawaii in 1983 and ranking fourth on Hawaii’s career steals list before playing professionally in New Zealand. His older brother, Corey, was playing professionally for Ironi Nahariya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League.[7]

References
  1. Player statistics for Tai Webster
  2. Auckland NBL Champions
  3. BREAKERS WELCOME BACK WEBSTER AS ROSTER IS FINALISED
  4. Webster Officially in the Fold
  5. Tai Webster's signing should get Pistons firing
  6. Bruntz, Michael (5 March 2017). "Webster reflects on winding, rewarding career". CBS Sports. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  7. "Tai Webster Bio". Huskers.com. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  8. Chapman, Grant (11 April 2017). "NBA: Brogdon surprise paves way for Kiwi Tai Webster's NBA dream". New Zealand Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  9. "Former Husker Tai Webster signs with German team Fraport Skyliners". Omaha World-Herald. 8 September 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  10. "Galatasaray signs Jaka Klobucar and Tai Webster". Sportando. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  11. "New Zealand Breakers confirm Tai Webster signing for upcoming Australian NBL season". Stuff. 15 July 2020.
  12. Tall Blacks cut down squad for FIBA World Cup
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