Aaron Duane Olson (born 11 May 1978) is a Canadian-New Zealand former professional

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 who played the majority of his career in New Zealand.

Early life and career

Born in

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

, Canada to a New Zealand mother and a Canadian father, Olson moved back and forth between the two countries as a youth, spending time living in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...

region. Olson attended college at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

in Canada before switching to

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington, United States. It shares its satellite campus in Spokane, Washington with Washington State University. Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided in ...

in 1999. He played in 46 games for the

Eastern Washington Eagles The Eastern Washington Eagles are the intercollegiate varsity athletic teams that represent Eastern Washington University, located in Cheney, southwest of Spokane. A member of the Big Sky Conference, EWU's athletic program comprises five men's ...

over two seasons, averaging 11.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

Professional career

In 2001, Olson returned to New Zealand and joined the

Auckland Stars The Auckland Stars were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Stars competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at ASB Stadium. Team history The Auckland Stars, then known as Auckland Metro, were ...

of the National Basketball League. After a one-season stint with the Harbour Kings in 2002, Olson returned to the Stars in 2003 and continued playing for them until 2005, helping the club win back-to-back championships in 2004 and 2005.Basketball New Zealand – Aaron Olson
/ref> He also spent the 2002–03 season playing in Finland for Äänekosken Huima. Between 2003 and 2007, Olson played for the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Bank of New Zealand, BNZ Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers are the only non-Australian side currently competing in Austral ...

in the Australian National Basketball League. In 130 games for the Breakers over four seasons, he averaged 13.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. In May 2007, Olson announced his retirement from professional basketball.Basketball: Olson calls time out from basketball
/ref>

National team career

Known for his outside shooting touch and gritty defence, Olson debuted for the

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 ...

against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in 2003, was ruled ineligible to face

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in that year's Oceania Championships, but was cleared to represent New Zealand at the 2004 Olympics and subsequently the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

References

External links

ANBL profile

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Aaron 1978 births Living people Auckland Stars players Basketball people from Yukon Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Canadian emigrants to New Zealand Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States Canadian men's basketball players Canadian people of Danish descent Canadian people of New Zealand descent Commonwealth Games silver medallists in basketball Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Eastern Washington Eagles men's basketball players New Zealand men's basketball players New Zealand Breakers players New Zealand people of Canadian descent Olympic basketball players for New Zealand Sportspeople from Whitehorse Victoria Vikes basketball players 2006 FIBA World Championship players Shooting guards Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games