Aaron Bailey-Nowell (born 10 July 1981) is a New Zealand former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He debuted in the National Basketball League (NBL) in 2002 with the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as ...

and won a

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

with them the following year. He played for the

Taranaki Airs The Taranaki Airs are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in New Plymouth. The Airs compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Steelform ...

for the first time in 2004, his first of four stints. He played two seasons for the

Manawatu Jets The Manawatu Jets are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Palmerston North. The Jets compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Central Energy Trust Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they ...

from 2006 and a season with the Auckland Huskies in 2020. In 2013, he helped the NZ Maori team win the FIBA Oceania Pacific Championship while earning the tournament's most valuable player award. He represented New Zealand at FIBA 3x3 tournaments in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Early life

Bailey-Nowell attended

Waitara High School Waitara High School is a state secondary school in Waitara, Taranaki, New Zealand, founded in 1947. History On 1 December 1944, the Taranaki Education Board wrote to the Education Department seeking approval to open a high school. The depar ...

in Waitara, New Zealand, and played junior basketball at Taranaki Basketball Association.

NBL career

Bailey-Nowell debuted in the National Basketball League (NBL) in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

with the

and won a

with the Saints in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. He joined the

Taranaki Mountainairs The Taranaki Airs are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Pl ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and continued on with them in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. He moved to the

for the 2006 season and played a second season in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. After spending the 2007–08 Australian NBL season as a training player with the

West Sydney Razorbacks The West Sydney Razorbacks (known in its final season as the Sydney Spirit) were an Australian professional basketball team that competed in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The club was based in Sy ...

, Bailey-Nowell returned to Taranaki in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and played for the Mountainairs every year until

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. After missing the 2018 season, he re-joined the Mountainairs in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. Bailey-Nowell was set to play for the Mountainairs in 2020 prior to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In July 2020, he joined the Auckland Huskies for the rest of the 2020 NBL Showdown as an injury replacement for

Taine Murray Taine Jackson Murray (born 19 April 2002) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers. Early life and career Murray w ...

. Bailey-Nowell re-joined Taranaki for the

2021 season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

. In May 2021, he played his 300th NBL game. He re-joined Taranaki, now known as the Airs, for the 2022 season. He retired from the NBL in August 2022.

National team career

In 2006, Bailey-Nowell had a

Tall Blacks The New Zealand men's national basketball team () represents New Zealand in international basketball competitions. The team is governed by Basketball New Zealand. The team's official nickname is the Tall Blacks (). Over their history, New Zeal ...

trial. In 2013, Bailey-Nowell played for the NZ Maori team in the FIBA Oceania Pacific Championship in Porirua. His two-pointer on the buzzer in the semi-final lifted the team to a 77–75 win over Guam. He finished the match with 25 points and 16 rebounds. In the final, he had 12 points and nine rebounds as the team beat Australia 71–66 to win the tournament. He was subsequently named MVP of the tournament. In June 2017, Bailey-Nowell travelled to France with the New Zealand 3x3 National Team to compete in the

FIBA 3x3 World Cup The FIBA 3x3 World Cup is a 3x3 (basketball), 3x3 basketball tournament for national teams organized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The debut of the tournament originally named as the FIBA 3x3 World Championship was held in Au ...

. He played for the New Zealand 3x3 National Team at the FIBA Asia 3x3 Cup and

in 2018. He competed at the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup again in

Personal life

Bailey-Nowell and his wife Melissa have two children. As of 2021, Bailey-Nowell is a teacher-aid and basketball coach at Waitara High School.

References

External links

Taranaki Airs player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey-Nowell, Aaron 1981 births Living people Auckland Huskies players Forwards (basketball) Manawatu Jets players People educated at Waitara High School People from Waitara, New Zealand Taranaki Airs players Taranaki Mountainairs players Wellington Saints players