Players
Izayah Le'Afa
Izayah Le'Afa
2023 Averages
7.5
PPG
1.6
APG
1.8
RPG
35
FG%
Biography
The New Zealand-born combo guard has had to fight hard to bang down the door to become a regular NBL player, but he has now well and truly proven himself capable of having a significant impact.
The now 26-year-old was born and raised in Wellington which is where he started playing in the NZ NBL at the Wellington Saints, including being part of the championship in 2014 while still a teenager.
Then made the move to college to attend California State University, Sacramento and had a strong four-year career with the Hornets topped off by averaging 10.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 steals as a senior in 2019/20.
On the back of that, joined the Auckland Huskies of the NZ NBL in 2020 and made the All-Star Five and was named Defensive Player of the Year leading into signing with the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the NBL as a development player.
Ended up playing a significant role on the injury hit team, averaging 6.1 points and 15.9 minutes in 32 games, before stepping up even further in 2021/22 with 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists while earning a reputation as a standout on-ball defender.
Joined the Breakers for the first time for the 2022/23 season and had his career-best season as part of the team that went to the Championship Series with 10.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
Has become a regular in the Tall Blacks team as well and was one of their stars at the 2023 FIBA World Cup including scoring 23 points against Jordan.