Tauranga Whai


The Tauranga Whai are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty. The Whai compete in the National Basketball League and play their home games at Mercury Baypark.
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Team history

In December 2021, the Bay of Plenty Basketball Foundation were granted a license to enter a men's team into the National Basketball League for the 2024 season. The team was initially named the Bay of Plenty Stingrays. The team was rebranded as Whai in the lead up to their first season and then later officially branded Tauranga Whai. The word whai as a noun means stingray in Māori. As a verb, whai means to chase or pursue.
In October 2023, Whai Basketball announced Matt Lacey as their inaugural men's coach. In their NBL debut on 28 March 2024, the Whai defeated the Hawke's Bay Hawks 91–70 at Mercury Baypark. The Whai finished their first season in eighth place with an 8–12 record.

Season by season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage
SeasonGPWLW–L%Finish
2024208128th

Denotes season still in progress

Current roster



Women's team

Whai Basketball debuted in 2022 with a women's team, Mid-North Whai, in the inaugural season of the Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa. In 2024, the team became known as Tauranga Whai alongside their male counterpart. As of 2024, the team plays their home games at Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre. The Whai won the 2024 Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa championship with a 90–71 grand final victory over the Tokomanawa Queens.

Women's roster